


Coffee Houses and Cross Roads

by DesertMoon



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Angst, Best Friends, Body Image, Cute, First Meetings, Fluff, Homophobia, Love, M/M, Punk Frank Iero, Revenge, Revenge Era, Teen Gerard Way, ex boyfriend bert, so much love though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 09:12:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4174290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertMoon/pseuds/DesertMoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gerard doesn't work in the most conventional place, but that's okay, because neither does Frank.</p><p>But what will Frank do when he figures out that Gerard's probably a little more troubled than he first assumes...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **DISCLAIMER** : This piece of writing does not contain any factual information. These characters are entirely fictional and I make no attempt to represent any real people. I ask that readers have respect for our community; please do not share this work where it won't be welcome. Should this work offend or upset, please contact me. I will happily and immediately discuss, or simply take it down.

He walked back through the park in semi-darkness with a wad of twenty dollar bills pressed into the pocket of his jeans. Litter piled up on either side of the footpath and he stepped slightly out of his way to kick a beer bottle. It clinked as it hit something in the shadows. He kept walking. He wasn’t expected at the club until Monday and it was his first weekend off in months. 

A text lit up his phone through his jacket and he ignored it. If Brendon was asking him to cover an extra shift then he wasn’t interested. He just wanted to get home and pass out in front of the TV. Tonight he didn’t have to worry about what time he woke up the next day.  
A streetlight blinked out ahead of him and he sighed. He thought he heard movement in the bushes close by. If he was going to get shot he was sure as hell not going to get shot in some shady park with no one to see it go down.

  
To his annoyance leaves continued to rustle to his left as he passed and he heard a small sound. A sound which was unclear, but distinctly human. He faltered and hesitated by a park bench. He was only a few yards from the pool of light cast by the next lamp. Wind whipped his hair over his eyes briefly and he shivered, sweat still cooling on his skin from work. The noises persisted and this time they more perceptively sounded like whimpering. He’s lost count of the number of times he’d heard stories like this from his friends. As far as he could recall none of them had happy endings. He should have turned around and kept walking, he would have been home in fifteen minutes and in bed in another five, but instead he stopped.

If he hadn’t stopped he wouldn’t have found a half-conscious teenager bleeding under the hedge. Neither would he have ended up in an all-night café half an hour later hearing about how the kid got jumped by a dude in a trench coat and had his phone and wallet taken. The kid’s name was Gerard apparently. He didn’t ask Gerard what he was doing in a city park at 2:35 in the morning. Instead he bought him a coffee and they talked about movies. Occasionally he checked that Gerard didn’t want to go to the hospital to get his wounds looked at. Gerard refused each offer lightly with remarks suggesting that he’d suffered worse.

“You haven’t told me your name yet.” said Gerard at about 4 am.

“It’s Frank.”

“Hi, Frank.” he smiled and then promptly dropped his eyes to the table. He sat there, hands clasped around his second coffee, which must have been cold by then. Frank pretended not to notice the purple tinge creeping over Gerard’s knuckles. Brown roots were growing into his black dye-job, too. Frank smiled behind his cup when he noticed, remembering how much of an effort it was to maintain dyed hair. He used to have to bleach it for work, which was worse. Bleaching itched and he’d constantly complained about it. As luck would have it, some younger kids eventually auditioned, and according to Brendon they ‘suited the look better anyway’. 

Frank regained concentration in time to give a suitably interested reply to Gerard's comments on a new video game.

Gerard seemed nice enough, if a little lost. Frank couldn’t work out whether this was because he was probably concussed, or if it was his natural state. After a few hours he decided on the latter. Regardless, he was pretty good early-morning company. He smiled easily but seemed wary when laughing. He liked D&D, Audrey Hepburn and was in senior year at the highschool a few blocks away. It turned out that they visited the same comic store downtown.

  
At one point conversation about comics dried up and Frank asked if Gerard had any kind of Saturday job. He gave a small smile and said that he did ‘stuff here and there’. Frank sat up a little straighter. He was familiar with this reply, it was one that he himself often gave if he was at a dinner party, or around particularly conservative company. Luckily enough he wasn't often invited to dinner parties, and not much of the company he kept were conservative. He looked at Gerard with a new curiosity as he changed the subject. The tilt of Frank's head was a question which Gerard chose to ignore, so he let it drop. He was probably just paranoid, but noticed that Gerard didn’t ask where Frank worked.

He smiled as the boy in front of him began gesticulating enthusiastically about Star Wars. 

Light began to filter through the windows at around six. Neither of them really noticed. One of the waitresses narrowed her eyes at them whenever she passed with the broom. Frank simply ordered them both more drinks and smiled sweetly at her, pretending to ignore that her sweeps became increasingly aggressive whenever she neared their table. At one point Gerard pointed this out and then they had to suppress laughter whenever she passed.

  
Gerard asked about a tattoo as morning customers started to trickle in. One or two stayed, but most took their coffee and left as soon as they arrived. Frank watched them out of the corner of his eye and happily remembered that he didn’t have anywhere to be that day. He was explaining the writing trailed around his wrist when he noticed Gerard stiffen. He looked up and saw that his attention had been diverted. He followed his gaze and his eyes fell on a burly looking man paying for an order of pancakes at the till.  Turning back, he was met with a paler-than-usual, wide-eyed Gerard. Frank leant back in his seat and raised an eyebrow, nodding ever so slightly towards the man at the counter. Gerard closed his good eye and gave a very slight shake of his head.

The man was wearing leathers and, on slightly closer inspection, it was clear that the silver glint on his left ear was a safety pin. Frank wrinkled his nose and then frowned. Gerard was still, staring resolutely at the wall to the side of them. Frank was pretty sure he could hear Gerard humming quietly to himself.He glanced back over to the till. That leather jacket looked familiar, and he was fairly certain that only one man in this part of town was quite tacky enough to stick safety pins in his ears.

  
“You know him?” Frank said quietly. Gerard hesitated for too long before shaking his head. Whether or not Gerard was pretending to know him, Frank definitely did. The guy’s name was Spike, he used to be a regular at work. They hadn’t seen him since he was banned by Brendon months ago. He’d always been an obnoxious customer and eventually he must have been more trouble than he was worth. Brendon wasn’t often in the position to ban paying customers, so the situation must have been extreme. Brendon never talked about it. All Frank knew was that Spike worked as a bouncer somewhere downtown, where he was likely equally as unpopular.

Spike turned around and Frank couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. His nose was swollen and his lip was split. He’d clearly made an effort to clean the cuts but his the skin was taut around the edges. The wounds looked new. Frank’s eyebrows knitted together as he watched Spike leave the café with a box of pancakes. Frank was half way through wondering who the hell would go up against Spike in any kind of combat, then something clicked. He turned back to face the table slowly, eyes sweeping Gerard's own blackened eye and knuckles. Their injuries matched almost exactly.

He looked at Gerard, who was still looking away. His small frame was now slumped, probably in relief, in the chair opposite. His face had relaxed but his hands were shaking. It was barely noticeable, but just enough to send a tremor through the coffee he was holding.

Gerard frowned when Frank started to laugh. He tried to sober, but running his gaze over Gerard again he couldn't stop himself. Gerard was fairly skinny, his face was gentle-looking, there was paint on his nails and smudged makeup under his eyes. He did not look like the type to pick a fight with someone built like a tank. Nonetheless, It wasn’t unheard of for Spike to pick on those smaller than him…

“That was the guy who beat you up wasn't it?” said Frank quietly. Gerard put his coffee down and his good eye widened, then narrowed. Finally, he sighed and nodded.

“You told me he had a trench coat.” said Frank. Then he burst out laughing again. “Oh my god he looked awful, he came off looking worse in a fight with a high-schooler. I’m telling everyone at work.” Frank leaned over, offering his hand for a high five. Gerard was giggling a little now too.

“You know him, too?” he asked once Frank had calmed down. Still smiling, he nodded. “Well, tell him I want my library card back.” he muttered, which sent Frank into another small fit of laughter.

Gerard still didn’t ask where Frank worked, so Frank bought him another coffee.

They were in the café until about lunchtime, when Gerard announced that his mother might start wondering where he was in the next hour or so. Then he paused and added that she actually probably wouldn’t, but he should get home anyway. He said he had some college applications to re-write.

He checked his pockets as he got up before remembering that he didn’t have anything to check for. Frank mock-scowled at him for laughing when he held his hand out to shake.

  
“Bit formal.” he remarked, but shook it anyway. He thanked Frank for the coffee, promising to pay if this ever happened again. With a final wave he left, the bell above the door still tinkling as Frank saw him disappear across the street. He was about to go and pay at the cash register when sunlight glinted off something on the table. If it hadn't caught the light, he might have missed the small card lying underneath Gerard’s coffee cup. He stared at it for a few seconds and a smile crept onto his face as he recognised the curly writing on the small, reflective piece of card. He was still grinning to himself when a new waitress came to ask him if he was quite finished. He nodded and thrust a couple of twenties from his back pocket into her hand. He finally picked up the little card as he waited for the waitress to bring his change.

It shimmered in the glare of the morning sun behind him. It was the very same card which sat in stacks on the bar at work. A card of which there were 8 by 10 replicas in poster form covering the club’s exterior. It advertised, in sickly glitter, another bar downtown. It was run by one of Brendon’s friend and it was known for being particularly seedy. Frank ran a hand over his hair and exhaled. Gerard barely looked a day over sixteen and he was working in one of the roughest strip clubs in the city. Impressive.

It also explained why he wouldn’t tell Frank where he worked.

He tucked the card into his jacket and gave a genuine smile to his waitress when she returned, earning him a suspicious look and an extra-vehement flip of the ponytail as she returned to the counter. He ended up leaving most of his change on the table.

***

Frank sat in his flat for over an hour the next day deliberating. This was the one weekend he was completely free to sleep for a full 48 hours, was he really going to go and risk getting stabbed outside some club just because he was curious? The card sparkled in his hand. He scowled at it.

Apparently he hated himself, because at 9:30, instead of lying on his couch with a take-out, he was on his way downtown. It was cold. He pulled his hoodie up over his hair. It was dark out by the time he got there. He pushed the door, avoiding the glittery substance which was sprayed in stripes over the handle.

  
Despite it being a Saturday night, the room was pretty empty. It was early, Frank supposed. At least it was warm. At the end of a gloomy corridor the room opened out and the bar lined the wall to his right. On the far side of the room the stage stretched into a collection of tables and chairs which, even from this distance, didn’t look incredibly clean. There was broken glass on the floor by the stage. Two dancers were talking together next to one of the poles, completely disinterested in the odd customers lingering at the bar. In all fairness the customers weren’t paying much attention to the stage either. Frank wrinkled his nose. Brendon would flip a shit if their club ever fell into such a state. He almost smiled at the thought. In Frank’s first week he was almost fired for missing a step in their final routine. Not to mention clean-up every night. The last time glasses were left on the bar overnight, the entire staff worked overtime for the whole weekend.

Frank shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his hoodie and ambled over to the bar. There was no sign of Gerard. Maybe he wasn’t working tonight. If not, Frank could just get a drink and head home. Maybe he hadn’t meant to leave the card on the table back in the coffee shop. Maybe he didn’t even work here. Frank hadn’t thought of that. He sat himself on a creaky bar stool and ordered a beer, pulling his wallet out to pay. He’d just down it and get out of here.

Before he could bum himself out too hard, he heard whoops from behind him. He swivelled in his chair a little. The two strippers who had been chatting by the pole were now clapping and giggling, facing the silver curtain along the back of the stage. At first Frank couldn’t see what they were looking at, but a couple of seconds later the curtain began to rustle and out stepped a tall guy in very tight jeans, an equally tight silver tank top and some pretty outrageous eye makeup. Frank blinked. That was Gerard alright. He didn’t look anything like the lost looking teenager he’d found last night. In fact, lost was the last thing Gerard looked. His makeup completely covered his eye, Frank could barely see that there was anything wrong with it at all.  
Gerard laughed as the other dancers applauded him. He shook his hips and then covered his mouth, still laughing. Frank tried to hear what the others were saying.

“I told him you’d look gorgeous in that, Gee.”  
“Yeah, you’re definitely wearing that for the fist act on Monday, holy shit.”

  
“Guys, it’s nothing.” said Gerard, waltzing back and forth next to the curtain. He paused and then pouted a little. The other two laughed and applauded him again.

“Awesome, sweetheart.”  
“Seriously, though.” Said the one on the left. “Why didn’t you wear this for your shift today?” 

Gerard shrugged.

“Why waste it on a night when no-one’s going to see it?” He motioned to the almost-empty room and brushed stray hairs out of his eyes. “No point looking hot in the 6-8 shift, right?” The other two nodded and muttered something amongst themselves. It looked like they were losing interest in Gerard, who seemed as if he was about to disappear back into what must have been the dressing room. Then one of the other strippers piped up.

  
“Why are you still here if you were working the early shift, darling?”  
“Yeah, Jesus.” said the other one, swinging absently on the pole. “I’d be out of this fucking place asap if I ever got fucking given the early shows. You know it’s nearly 10, right?” Gerard smiled at them and shrugged again. Frank didn’t hear what he said next, but before long there was a rustle and he disappeared behind the curtain.

  
Frank returned his attention to his beer. He wondered if he should go and look for Gerard. What if the card he left wasn’t even an invitation? What if he just looked like a stalker, following a guy he just met to his work? He downed the rest of his drink and stood up, pushing the glass onto the bar and nodding at the lady serving. She smiled. It came to his attention that he was probably the first guy under 50 that they’d seen in here in weeks. The only three other customers Frank could see looked well into their 60s. He shuddered and headed for the door. Times like this he was glad that Brendon was so uptight about the quality of their work at the club, it kept the complete creep:normal dude ratio slightly lower than it might have been otherwise.

  
These thoughts were doing nothing to help the dilemma rising to the forefront of Frank’s mind. Should he hang around for a little while to see if Gerard comes out, or should he just forget it and leave. Maybe he could come back on another night; a more crowded night, specifically. He wasn’t keen to move himself into the complete-creep bracket in Gerard’s eyes.

  
Outside it was raining hard. Fantastic. Frank pulled his hoodie around him tightly and hovered by the door, just underneath the overhanging porch-like entranceway. Screw it, he thought. He’d come back another time. This whole thing was becoming more trouble than it was likely worth. He forced himself not to think about Gerard’s work outfit, and stepped out into the pouring rain. Maybe he’d get a bus home. He’d barely walked another two paces when a voice made him turn around.

“Frank?”  
“Gerard…” The sound of the rain swallowed his voice. Gerard was standing in the doorway, opening a huge pink umbrella. His makeup was still perfectly intact and, by the looks of things, he was wearing his work jeans. Either that or he chose to wear suffocatingly tight pants all the time. Frank decided that this might well be the case.  
Gerard motioned for him to come over.

  
“Hey.” he said with a smile. “I didn’t know whether you were going to come! How long have you been here?”  
“Oh,” said Frank, stepping back under shelter. “Not too long, I didn’t know if you would be around so I- uh- thought i’d come back another time… but here you are.” Frank sighed inwardly. This was why he preferred not to socialise sober. Gerard just smiled down at him, holding his umbrella out a fraction.

  
“Here I am.” he said. There was a pause, rain beat the alleyway floor. Puddles were beginning to flow into streams which would undoubtably soak Frank’s converse right through. Frank looked at his watch.

  
“Well- you got out pretty early? Want a drink? I mean, not an alcoholic one I guess ‘cause-“ Frank motioned vaguely at Gerard, whose smile was growing. “- but we could go get coffee again or something? Maybe? Like, a re-run of last night, but with less bleeding…” he petered out. Wow, Frank, he thought.  
“Sure, sounds awesome.” Gerard said, impressively managing to refrain from laughing. The crooked smile remained plastered on his face, though. “Same place, then?”

***

“So, I know where you work.” said Frank, clasping his coffee tightly to try and regain some warmth. “But I never told you what I do for a living.” He leant back, sipping his coffee and peering at Gerard who, even with a well-concealed black eye, looked pretty awesome. Frank had seen that he was pretty when they first met, but now he looked really fucking cool too. Gerard raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Frank frowned.

  
“What?” he said. Gerard’s mouth curved up in a half-smile now and he shrugged.  
“Oh, nothing.”  
“No, what was that look for?” Frank said, now smiling too.  
“It was nothing. Tell me where you work, Frank.” he said. Frank narrowed his eyes. Something in Gerard’s tone suggested more than innocent curiosity.

“Gerard, you’re freaking me out.” he said, to which Gerard laughed properly, covering his mouth with his hands.  
“Sorry, sorry.” he said. Frank was caught between a frown and a smile. This boy was cute. “I know what you do, Frank.” Now it was Frank’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Oh come on.” said Gerard. “I’m a stripper, Frank.”  
“…Yes. You are.”

  
Gerard rolled his eyes.

  
“You work in the best club in this part of the city and you don’t think everyone I work with has come to see you guys working at one point or another? It’s like… I don’t know, basic practice. We come, like, once a month. Plus, some of our bar staff know your manager, so they let us in free.” While this was all news to Frank, he decided to focus on the least committal detail of Gerard’s explanation.

  
“You know Brendon?”  
“Well, not personally, but a couple of the waitresses know him.”  
They sat in silence for a little while, drinking their coffee. Frank slowly took in the information he’d just been given. He was definitely flattered, but he had no clue how to voice this in a socially acceptable way, so he didn’t.

  
“How old are you, anyway? You’re in highschool for fuck’s sake.” he said. Gerard laughed again and looked at the table.  
“Yeah, don’t tell my mom.” he said, running a hand through his hair. Frank grinned. “I’m eighteen though, so it’s all legal don’t worry.” he said, in a voice which indicated he’d had to explain this a few times before.  
“Oh, dude, I don’t care about that. I was just a little worried when you left me that card. I was like, holy shit what if he’s been, like, forced into it or something.” said Frank.  
“God, no. I do it because I fucking love it.”  
“Same.” said Frank, looking Gerard over carefully. He completely believed that Gerard loved dancing, he could sympathise with that. However, he was also a little worried about him. Not so long ago Frank had been in a situation where he had to choose working or living on the streets. He wasn’t much older than Gerard. He’d only just met him, but he seemed like a good guy. At eighteen, if your parents don’t even notice that you’re out six nights of the week, there’s likely something going on. But the truth was, it wasn’t his place to ask. For one thing, he’d known the kid for under 24 hours; and for another, when Frank had first started working at the club, he’d hated it when people assumed that he was only a dancer because he was a bum or a drug addict. It wasn’t the case, and even if it were, it was none of their fucking business. He didn’t want to go assuming things about Gerard either. The boy in question brought him from his thoughts.

  
“How old are _you_.”  
“twenty-one.”

Gerard spluttered.

“That’s three fucking years, man!” he said. Frank frowned at him.  
“Between me and you? I know…?”

“When I said I was eighteen you looked at me as if I belong in elementary school. I though you must be like, at least 26 or something-“

“I don’t look 26.” said Frank.

Gerard shrugged.

“And i’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be patronising or whatever. I started out when I was pretty much your age and the older guys always did that. It sucked.”

“Yeah, I get it a lot. The others don’t really pay me that much attention though so… I guess it’s not so bad.” He looked at his hands which were receding into his coat sleeves, and for the first time that evening, Frank caught a glimpse of the quiet teenager he’d first met the night before. Gerard spoke again, quieter this time,  
“and it’s cool. I know you didn’t mean to.”

“I really didn’t.” Frank said. Gerard continued to look at the table. “So, uhm, do you want another coffee or…” Gerard looked as if he was about to respond when he looked off to the right and his face paled.

“For fuck’s sake.” he muttered. Frank turned. A group of boys walked in, all of them talking unnecessarily loudly.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” said Frank, looking back at Gerard. “Don’t tell me you know one of them too?”  
“What can I say, I’m a popular guy.” If Gerard hadn’t sounded quite so strained then Frank might have laughed. “Oh my god, they’re looking over here, holy shit. This is fucking awkward.”  
“Talk to me, Gerard. Who are they?” Frank asked, looking back at the group as subtly as he could. They were swarming around a menu board and, unfortunately  
“Typical story. Just the Ex and all his pals.” Gerard was letting his hair fall over his face and brought his hand up in an attempt to shield himself. It didn’t seem to be very effective.

“So at least this guy isn’t going to cause you any harm…” said Frank, sneaking another look behind him. The group was now being served and, by the looks of things, being directed to a table right in Frank and Gerard’s direction.

“Not physically, no.” he said through gritted teeth.

“Gerard, not to alarm you but-“ he cut himself off. Gerard, instead of his usually ghostly pale shade, had now flushed and looked incredibly flustered. Frank couldn’t help but wonder what could have possibly happened between the two of them to cause such a reaction. He didn’t get a chance to ask.

“Oh, god.” said Gerard, by now his voice a squeak. Frank had an idea.

“Come sit over here.” he said quietly, aware that the group were approaching. Gerard shot him a puzzled look. “Just.. come on.” said Frank, motioning with his arm.  
“Frank, they’re going to see me-“ Frank frowned at him and repeated his arm motion. Gerard obeyed quickly, sliding onto the bench next to Frank.

“Get your coffee.” said Frank, pointing to the empty cup Gerard left on the other side of the table. This time Gerard didn’t argue, he simply pulled the cup over and huddled next to Frank looking somewhere between panicked and forlorn. On Gerard, Frank thought, this was unbearably adorable. Seconds later the group were making their way loudly past the table. Gerard squealed something which Frank didn’t hear and, before he knew it, a black haired guy was splitting off from the group. The others all piled into a booth directly behind Frank and Gerard’s table, but this other guy had turned around and was now walking directly towards them.

“That him?” muttered Frank. Gerard’s eyes were fixed firmly in his lap, but he nodded. Before Gerard could protest, Frank slipped his arm around his shoulders, just in time for the black haired guy to reach their table.

  
“Gerard?” he said.  
“Hi Bert.”  
“Wow, it’s been a while, how are you doing? Who’s this?” he asked, pointing to Frank. Rude.  
“Oh- uhm.”  
“Hi. Frank. Gee’s boyfriend, nice to meet you.” said Frank, sticking out his hand. Bert blinked at it for a full two seconds before extending his own hand to shake. Frank could feel Gerard’s body relax slightly as he caught on. He leant into Frank slightly.  
“We’re good thanks. How are you? How’s work?” Bert looked Frank up and down, but managed to keep a smile on his face.  
“Oh, it’s good.” he said. “You’re still in highschool, right?” Frank unintentionally tightened his grip on Gerard’s shoulder. It didn’t take any kind of expert to recognise the ice behind that remark.  
“Yeah. Still a senior, Bert.” Gerard sounded tired. Bert nodded with clearly feigned interest. Frank noted It hadn’t taken much for him to drop his friendly facade. Bert turned to Frank.  
“And you? Senior? Junior?”

Wow.

“Oh, no. I’m a stripper.” he said. Bert’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. Gerard completely tensed up again, but when Frank stole a look at him, he could see that it was with suppressed laughter rather than discomfort.  
“Right, well, good to see you Gerard. Nice to uh- nice to meet you, Frank. I should get back.” he pointed over his shoulder to the boys watching them from the booth. Frank smiled widely and waved. Gerard muttered a quick, “Bye, Bert.”  
Once Bert had settled himself back with his friends, and was very obviously spreading the gossip he’d just heard, Frank was a little slow to take his arm off Gerard’s shoulders. Gerard didn’t move either for a few moments.  
“I guess we should go now…” he said.  
“Yeah. I guess.” said Frank, about to reach for his wallet. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the entire table of Bert’s entourage watching them. He paused. “Or…”  
“Or what?”  
“Or we could… you could…” Frank stopped, trying to assess the situation. “Gerard, is this like a- How badly do you want to make him jealous? Like, is it just a ‘haha, i’ve moved on’ thing, or is it more of a ‘fuck you and everything you stand for’ kind of thing.” Gerard thought for a moment.  
“I think both would probably appropriate in this situation.”

“Okay.” said Frank, wondering if he was really about to say this...

“Wanna kiss me?”

Apparently he was.

Gerard’s eyes widened.

“...But we just met yesterday, are you-" Frank gave him a look. "Oh!” his hands flew to his mouth and he giggled. “Oh, I get it.” Then he frowned and looked out from under his hair at the other table, then back to Frank, then to the table again. “I don’t know, would you mind?”  
“Duh, no.” said Frank, waving his hand. Gerard giggled again.  
“Okay, okay. Wait ’til they’re looking… Okay…”  
And all of a sudden his lips were on Frank’s. Gerard’s hands moved up to Frank’s neck, probably so they were visible to Bert. It was awkward and cramped on their bench, but definitely, Frank decided, not unpleasant at all. Gerard’s lips were soft. Frank supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that Gerard knew what he was doing, but he just didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would, but he absolutely, undeniably did.

Eventually they separated. If Gerard had been flushed before it was nothing to the shade he was now. They both laughed and looked at each other for a few seconds.

 

“They’re looking.” whispered Gerard. Frank shook himself mentally in order to form an acceptable response.

“Good.” was the best he could manage.

“Now we should probably go.”

“Yeah.” He pulled out his wallet, fumbling a little with his pockets.

He grinned at Gerard who grinned back as they extracted themselves from the bench. Gerard held out his hand somewhat ceremoniously once they had gathered all their things. Frank smiled and took it, intertwining their fingers. They both made a big show of leaning into each other as they left the café, and though this stopped once they had made it out into the night air, they quietly remained hand-in-hand until they got to Gerard’s bus stop a few blocks away. Frank was just walking away when he heard his name being called from the bus stop. He turned and was faced with Gerard’s figure jogging towards him, silhouetted against the street lamps. He started speaking almost before he’d reached Frank.

“I just wanted to say before you go- before I go, actually, I guess- that I didn’t actually properly say thank you for last night. I mean, it’s dramatic but I could have died there so you kind of saved my life and I feel like I should have thanked you for that… So this is, you know, thank you, I guess. Also, back there in the café that was pretty cool of you, you didn’t have to do that and- uhm- I just wanted you to know that I really appreciate it so- yeah.” He stopped and blinked a couple of times before reaching into his back pocket. An engine rumbled from down the street. Gerard spun around- still struggling with his back pocket. That would teach him to wear such tight jeans, thought Frank, who was stuck between amusement and genuine affection for this guy he’d just met yesterday.

“That’s my bus.” said Gerard, finally winning the struggle with his jeans. He pulled Frank in for a quick hug and shoved a crumpled piece of paper into his hands. “See you round.” he called behind him as he turned and ran back to the bus stop.

“Bye.” said Frank, but Gerard was already halfway onto the bus, waving briefly before he disappeared.

Frank, feeling a bit dazed by what had just happened, looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. This time there was no reflective card or glittery writing, just 10 numbers scrawled in scratchy handwriting. On the back, in the same cursive, “See you Monday night.” There was a little star drawn next to it. Frank looked up just in time to watch the bus disappearing around a corner. He stood where he was for a moment, then put the paper into his pocket.

Looks like he was calling in sick to work Monday night.

Turning slowly, he started back down the street, and found himself smiling most of the way home.


	2. Chapter 2

Frank woke up in Brendon's flat with a splitting headache. It had been three weeks, six days and probably about four hours since he'd bunked off work to watch Gerard's Monday show. And what a show. 

It wasn't like Frank had been thinking about it every waking moment or anything. Nope. He'd definitely been thinking about it while he slept too. 

On stage Gee was just something else. Any shadow of shyness left him completely. And, for the record, the other strippers had been right, Gerard looked fucking awesome in his jeans and silver shirt. Frank hadn't been a fan of silver or gold items of clothing until that night. Not that Gerard had kept the shirt on for very long... 

Okay, time to get up, Frank. 

Brendon barely acknowledged him as he scooped up his clothes and headed for the door in a pair of trackies and Ray's T-shirt. Frank thought he might have heard a muttered goodbye from behind him as the door swung closed. 

Frank squinted and groaned in discomfort as soon as he emerged from the apartment block. A wall of sunlight felt like it had slapped him around the face. He'd been out the night before with Brendon and Ryan, plus a bunch of guys from work. Frank insisted he wanted to be home before two so he could sleep before his shift at the coffee shop started. He still vaguely remembered laughing hysterically at the clock in Brendon's kitchen when they got home at 7:06 am. He was going to feel fantastic today. 

As he trudged home he willed himself to stay awake long enough to get out of the rough part of town. His priority at this point was simply getting home alive so he could shower. Work started in about two hours. 

***

"Wow, you look like shit." said Ray cheerfully. He was hovering behind the coffee machine, hair tied in what might have been a ponytail, but looked like a large pompom. Ray hated it, but the coffee shop insisted. Frank had met Ray here four years ago in this very coffee house when they were both in highschool. Frank had certainly dropped a few shifts since he started working nights at the club, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the shop. Plus, it was only a block over from Bren's club, and the extra money never hurt. 

"I feel how I look, Ray, my love." sighed Frank, pulling an apron from the shelf. It was three in the afternoon and there was a lull in customers. Frank scanned the shop before dropping himself down behind the counter, ignoring Ray's reproachful look. Frank pulled out his phone and balanced it on his knee, staring at the screen. 

"You are not still waiting for that stripper kid to call, are you?"

Frank pouted and clicked his home button. No new messages.

"No."

"Liar! Look, Frank, he gave you his number first, I think he wants _you_ to text _him_."

"I know, but _I_ left him my number when I went to see his show. So, I left it last, which means I want him to text me. Obviously." 

Ray shook his head, hair bobbing from side to side. 

"He's probably busy with some homework or something." said Ray, masking a grin by turning to the storage room to pick up more cups.

"He's eighteen, Ray, not eight." Frank grumbled. 

"Whatever, dude, all I hear is 'highschooler'." Ray called from somewhere within the store cupboard. He emerged looking smug. "Maybe his mom found out that he was interested in an older man and took his phone away."

Frank looked up from his phone in disbelief. 

"Are you seriously making those kind of jokes when the kid's a  _stripper_. His mom probably wouldn't notice if he was married with kids. He's about to graduate, Ray. Plus, he's not interested. You're so clueless." Ray scoffed. 

"You're the clueless one, man. You're waiting around on a kid in school. Can't you date one of those guys from the club? What about Ryan? He's pretty." 

Frank wrinkled his nose and leant back against the counter. "He also belongs to Brendon. I have never seen the two of them further than four inches away from each other."

Ray shrugged and then looked up sharply at the sound of the door opening. When Frank made no attempt to move, Ray clicked at him and motioned towards the cash register. 

"Okay, sorry. Jesus." 

The customer walked up, still out of view, but as soon as he turned to the counter, Ray gasped. 

"Mikey!" he said. "What are you doing over here, man?" 

The kid was tall and lanky. Rectangular glasses sat at the end of his nose and his hair was spilling out of a black beanie. He looked bored, but as soon as he caught sight of Ray his face broke into a smile. Frank looked between them and tried to melt into the background. The paracetamol he took was going nothing for his headache. He could barely handle talking to Ray, let alone some new person. 

"Hey, man." he said. "Ah, my brother wanted me to drop him off at work. The loser doesn't like taking the subway alone."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a brother. Where does he work? It's a Sunday." said Ray, pouring a coffee into a takeaway cup before Mikey even had the chance to ask for it. Mikey pulled his beanie further down over his hair. 

"Yeah, well, when you were gardening for mom he was always hiding away in his basement so... I guess you never saw him. Eh, he was just needed for, uh, waiter work today. He was called in last minute." Ray nodded politely and smiled again, handing Mikey his drink. "Well, say hi to your mom for me and drop in again if you're ever around." he said. Mikey nodded and thanked him. He was on his way to the door when he paused and spun back around. 

"Hey, I'll probably come for my brother at like six or seven, will you still be on shift?" 

"Yeah, til about half seven probably. Bring your brother in? I'd like to finally meet him." said Ray. Mikey nodded and gave a small salute which Ray returned, and then he was gone. Frank looked at Ray, who was busy cleaning mugs. After a few seconds he sighed and turned to Frank. 

"Would you quit staring?"

"Well, sorry dude, but you were the one criticising me for having a friend in highschool. That guy looks about six." Ray rolled his eyes and went back to the sink. 

"Shut up, he's a _family_ friend, and he's eighteen too, just like your little boyfriend. Except I'm not stalking the poor guy." Frank scowled, not bothering to defend himself, settling instead with two raised middle fingers. 

***

At 7:25 Frank was taking off his apron, ignoring Ray's protests. 

"Ray, dude, I love you, and I'm sure your friend and his brother are rad, but my shift ended twenty minutes ago and I've had approximately 30 seconds sleep over the past twenty four hours. I'm going home."

"Fine." said Ray, scrubbing down the countertops for the fifth time out of boredom. Frank jumped on his back for an attack hug on the way out. Ray fended him off with dish cleaning spray. 

Frank walked to his car as quickly as he could manage with his eyes drooping. It was parked behind the complex through an alley which made even Frank nervous after dark. He rushed through and emerged into the parking lot, feeling for his keys in his pockets. He stopped a few metres from his car, searching through every pocket. His phone was where it belonged in his right pocket, but his keys were not. He fisted a hand in his hair and groaned. He'd thrown his jacket over the safety railing in the shop. His keys must have fallen out. He kicked at the ground and turned himself around, grumbling to himself as he went. 

***

It had started to drizzle as he stormed back into the coffee shop, announcing loudly that the world was out to get him when he was stopped in his tracks. At the counter was the kid from earlier chatting away to Ray, and behind him, a dark haired boy just slightly shorter than his brother. For a moment Frank stood completely still, refusing to believe his eyes. Standing behind Ray's lanky friend, was the very guy who'd been strutting in and out of his dreams for almost a month. He stood on the entrance ramp, mouth slightly open. All three at the counter were now looking at him. Ray, oblivious to Frank's recent revelation, began to introduce Gerard. Mikey, on the other hand, was looking between Frank and his brother with narrowed eyes. Alongside their matching expressions of surprise, Frank thought he saw Mikey focussing on his neck, where he knew there were two very distinctive tattoos. Realisation began to dawn in Mikey's eyes when Ray rounded the counter, still making friendly conversation, unaware that everyone else in the room was ignoring him completely. 

"Frank, did you hear me?" he said, walking over to the ramp and waving a hand at Frank. "This is Gerard, Mikey's brother. The one we were talking about earlier."

Frank and Gerard maintained eye contact and the shadow of a smile crept into Gerard's eyes. 

"Nice to meet you, Frank." he said, taking a step forward and holding out his hand. Frank began to grin himself, clicking his lip ring against his teeth as he walked to meet Gerard. There was glitter under his nails and the faintest smudges of eyeliner under his eyes. Mikey's eyes were still narrowed as he peered between them. Frank wondered if this meant Gerard had told Mikey about him. The thought sent a wave of electricity through his veins. 

"You too, Gerard. It's a pleasure." 

They stood there, shaking hands and smiling at each other until even Ray began to look a little concerned. Thankfully, Gerard winked at Frank which made him lose composure so completely that he dropped his grip anyway. Gerard giggled. Frank was left wondering how Gerard had just shot from devastatingly attractive to adorable in under 0.2 seconds. Next to him, Ray looked relieved, and turned back to Mikey to continue their previous conversation. Gee held eye contact for a moment longer before nodding towards the other two, where Mikey was throwing them suspicious glances. Frank hummed and brushed past Gerard slightly as they followed Ray back over to the counter. Frank hoped Ray wouldn't pick up on how close they were standing, or the shade of red he had turned, which was no doubt darkening by the second. 

Any tiredness Frank had been feeling when he walked into the coffee shop was completely eradicated. Standing next to Gerard, he was wide awake. 


	3. Chapter 3

Frank frowned in surprise when he felt his phone buzz from his pocket. He was sitting around the table in the coffee house with Ray, Mikey, and Gerard, who was facing him. Street lamps were beginning to turn on along the street outside. Frank had now been at work for a full hour after his shift had ended, not that he was actually working, and not that he really minded. Gerard's knee occasionally brushed his under the table and it was better than any caffeine rush the shop could have offered. 

He glanced down at his phone, making a good show of still seeming interested in the superhero debate being conducted by Mikey and Ray. Gerard would occasionally comment if he seemed to feel particularly strongly, but for the most part he and Frank had been exchanging glances and suppressing their laughter into their coffee cups. 

Frank's frown deepened when Gee's name popped up in his alert box. He tried to catch his eye across the table, but all of a sudden Gerard had become fascinated in Mikey's detailed angle on the back-story of Kent Clark. Ray, also, was engrossed, so Frank looked back down at his phone and opened the message. 

" _Bathroom, 60 seconds."_

What? Frank was just about to look back up at Gerard for an explanation when the scrape of a seat ran through the empty shop. Frank thought he saw the briefest of smiles as Gerard excused himself and headed towards the back of the coffee house. Sure enough, to the bathroom. Frank clicked his lip ring between his teeth and looked between Ray and Mikey. They barely even acknowledged Gerard when he'd left. Fuck it. Frank waited a few more seconds and then muttered something near unintelligible before getting up and following Gerard into the bathroom. 

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a grinning Gerard. 

"Hey." said Frank. 

"Hey." said Gerard. He paused for a moment, looking unsure, and then all at once he stepped forwards and threw his arms around Frank's shoulders, enclosing him in a tight hug. Frank laughed. 

"Good to see you too." He said as they pulled apart. 

"Dude, I never thought i'd see you again!" said, still smiling and kicking at the floor tiles. Frank leant against the sink and tried not to gaze at Gerard too hard. 

"Are you kidding?" Frank smiled and cocked his head. "You're the one who didn't text me." Gerard gasped in mock-horror. 

"I gave you my number first!" he said, bringing his hand up to his chest, putting on a show of looking offended. "I waited by the phone for hours, darling." Frank laughed again and shook his head. He tried to surreptitiously look Gerard up and down. His outfit today seemed to confirm that the kid liked to torture himself into the tightest jeans he could find regardless of whether he was working or not, but this time, under his ratty leather jacket he wore a simple Misfits t-shirt. No spangles, nothing extraordinary. He was dressed like any other 'alternative' highschooler. Come to think of it, Frank wore pretty much that exact outfit to prom. Minus the leathers. Frank was over one hundred percent sure that Gerard wore it one hundred percent better, though.

 "Seriously, though." Gerard said, quieter. "I thought we'd scared you off at the club. I thought the show must have been really shitty or something." He looked at Frank through his hair with a more nervous smile than before. He dug his hands into his pockets. 

"Dude! Oh my god, no!" said Frank. "Honestly, it was so awesome. Like, woah. Not going to lie, I thought you were the best they had... but the show was so rad, honestly." Frank was pretty sure he saw Gerard flush, but it was hard to tell under his makeup. "And I would have texted, I promise, I just didn't want to bug you or anything... I get that you're probably really busy with work and school and stuff." Frank studied Gerard and decided that he was definitely blushing.  

"Oh." said Gerard, now looking at the floor. His confidence seemed to be melting by the second. Frank's heart tugged a little. "No, I mean, I am a little busy but never... I mean you can always..." he took a breath and his eyes drifted across the floor tiles, then over the wall, and eventually to meet Frank's. "I'm trying to say I'm always, like, available. You can text me whenever. I don't know." He giggled again and brought his hands up to partly cover his face. Frank nodded, trying not to grin as widely as he wanted to. 

"I'll probably have to take you up on that." 

The two stood looking at each other, both smiling a little too much. This sent Gerard off into a fit of giggles which were contagious. Once they had both calmed down, Frank checked the clock on his phone. 

"We've been gone a little while I guess we should get back." he said. Gerard nodded, but as they were leaving he stopped so suddenly that Frank almost walked into him. 

"One more thing." he said quietly, almost apologetically. Frank waited. "I know you've been through all this so you probably know the drill, but Ray is really, really,  _really_ close with my parents. If he found out how I was earning my extra money then I'm pretty sure word would get back to them. Mikey knows already, so you don't need to worry about him, but for Ray it's a no-go on the stripper talk. That okay?"

"Totally." said Frank, patting Gerard's arm. "I've been there." Gerard smiled gratefully. "Also," he said. "No pressure or anything, but if you ever want to talk about anything... I was meaning to say this when we met, actually, but I just wanted you to know that i'd totally be down to talk stuff through or whatever. When I was starting out I would have loved to have someone who actually understood what it was like to help me through some stuff. I'm not pretending to be an expert or anything, but, I don't know... I know what it's like for the older guys to be a little cold when you're younger. They'll warm up, don't worry, but until then, I'm here.." said Frank. It all spilled out in a bit of a rush and he probably sounded like a complete moron, but it made Gerard blush again so he considered it a win. 

"Thanks, Frankie, that means a lot." he shot Frank a bright smile before heading back out into the shop.

'Frankie.' thought Frank. 

He dashed back into the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water, drying himself with his shirtsleeve, before hurriedly following Gerard back to their table.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's short... but I figure I'll post the little bits I write as they come unless anyone would prefer a fixed length but posted a little less frequently? Whatever works :)


	4. Chapter 4

Frank stared at the ceiling as the room grew lighter. A text from Gerard had woken him up and he couldn't get back to sleep. He turned onto his side and reached for his phone to re-read their messages. They'd spoken almost every day since they'd run into each other at the coffee house. They'd been to the comic book store together at least once a week since that night. Gerard dragged Frank to see a movie which Frank dutifully pretended to enjoy. It became something of a tradition for them to watch each others' shows when they had a night off. If their nights off coincided they would find a coffee shop and sit together until the early hours. Frank was beginning to enjoy this new routine. 

It must have been almost four months ago now, but Frank still thought about the night they first met. He wondered what his life would be like now if he'd just kept walking when he heard noises in the bushes. The only conclusion he let himself reach was that he'd probably have a lot more time on his hands. 

He threw his phone to the end of the bed and watched the sun inching over the duvet. Then he held a hand out in front of him, frowning at his knuckles, the tattoos were fading. He sighed at the thought of having to pay to get them refreshed. His phone bleeped again and he jumped to reach it. Gee again. Frank hoped he was alright. It was 4am. Which means Gerard had school in three hours. Frank often tried to coax Gerard into talking about things at home, but he always skirted the topic in one way or another. For the most part he insisted that everything was fine, and Frank didn't want to pry too hard so he usually accepted it. Believing it, on the other hand, was a different matter.  

As much as Ray made fun of him, Frank would never admit quite the level of his fascination he had with the kid. He wouldn't even admit to himself the extent of his interest. He firmly decided that he saw himself in Gerard and he felt protective because the industry they were in was often a tough one. The affection he felt was simply because they had a lot in common. He waited for hours for a single text just because he knew that it's important to pay attention to your friends. 

"Frank, you once didn't return my call for an hour and a half because your phone was an inch out of your reach and you couldn't be bothered to move." Ray had pointed out when Frank voiced this justification.

Frank boycotted the subject from then on. He stopped trying to justify his friendship with Gerard at all. He liked him, and, in his opinion, that was all the explanation that was needed.

***

Frank was finding his jacket for work when the house phone began to ring. He hovered for a moment between reaching his jacket and reaching the phone. He glanced at the clock. No matter what he did now, he was going to be late. He sighed and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Frank..." Frank's heart jumped in his chest, but not pleasantly. The voice belonged to Gerard. He sounded breathless, like he'd been crying, though it was obvious that he was trying to hold himself together. "Frank. I fucked up. I fucked up so badly-"

"Gee? Calm down, It's okay. What's going on?"

"Fuck." said Gerard. Frank could hear that he was really crying again now. There was a clatter in the background and what sounded like a door closing. Frank frowned and picked up his keys from the counter. 

"Where are you Gerard?"

"I'm- Frankie I don't know what to do. I really fucked up. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you I just- Mikey's out tonight-"

"It's alright. Everything's alright, just tell me what's going on? Are you at home?" there was a pause and some sniffling. Wind hit the microphone sharply and Frank winced. 

"No. I'm not."

"Do you need picking up, Gee?" Frank said gently. To his dismay this seemed to make Gerard cry harder, to the point where it was hard to interpret what he was saying. 

"No- I didn't mean to inconvenience you or- You're supposed to be at work- I really can't-"

"Stop, it's alright. Tell me where you are." he said. "Please." Gerard paused again to take a shaky breath, then he told Frank the name of an address. Frank made him repeat it three times before it was audible. 

"Thank you." he whispered, and before Frank could reply the dial tone rang into his ear. His phone was barely in his pocket by the time he was out of the door. 

***

Gerard sat on Frank's couch, coffee clasped in his hands between his knees. His shoulders were hunched and he stared into the middle distance. Frank watched him from a chair on the other side of the room. The crying had stopped a while ago. Frank wasn't entirely sure this was a good thing. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gingerly. Gerard didn't look at him. Frank leant back in his chair, eyebrows knitted. "I hate seeing you like this man..."

"I'm sorry you had to come and get me. I shouldn't have made you do that. Brendon will be mad." said Gerard suddenly. 

"Huh? No, dude, honestly, don't worry about it. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to come." 

Gerard nodded and blinked for what seemed like the first time in a while. His glance fell onto his cup. Frank breathed a small sigh of relief. 

"I slept with Bert again." he said quietly. Frank's eyes widened. 

"Gee..."

"I know. It's stupid. I'm weak. Whatever." 

"No." Frank said quickly, leaning forward again. "No, Gerard, that wasn't what I was going to say at all. I don't think that's true for a second. Do you think that?" He said. Gerard's eyes were glued on his coffee. He shrugged. "Look at me, Gee." said Frank. He had to repeat himself before Gerard finally responded. 

"Don't do that to yourself. You're not weak. I don't know what happened tonight, but whatever it was, it wasn't your fault." 

"But it was." Said Gerard, more forcefully than before. "I was fucking stupid. I was the one who called him. I felt- fuck it, never mind. I don't know why I did it. I swore to myself that I would never go back there no matter what. I'm so fucking angry."

"So..." Frank looked at his hands. "I don't understand, did you call him with the intention of..."

"No."

"Okay. So what happened? If you don't mind talking about it?"

"It's okay. I don't mind. It's why I called you." He ran a hand through his hair which was knotted at the back. "I would have called Mom if I wanted to sit in silence." He muttered. Then he shifted and looked directly at Frank for the first time since getting into the apartment.

"I was feeling.. weird this morning. Ever since Bert texted me last week - I know we laughed about it at the time -  but, I don't know, It made me feel wanted for the first time in ages and so when he texted me again this morning I just gave in. I called him, just to talk! I really just wanted to talk. I kind of hate that we left it on such bad terms-"

"Gee, he was awful to you." Frank said softly. He hadn't meant to interrupt, but Gerard was looking tearful again and it hurt Frank's head to watch him beat himself up about it. Gerard had eventually told Frank the full story about Bert a few weeks ago. It wasn't something he liked to think about it. It made him unhealthily angry. He pushed the thought from his mind before he started on a rant. 

"I know." said Gerard. "But he didn't always used to be like that. I let myself forget how he used to be before... before, you know. Plus, he apologised. He wrote me that letter. He did so much afterwards to make up for it and I ignored all of it. He was drunk, I could have been a little more forgiving."

Frank shook his head, but didn't trust himself to say any more on the subject. Instead he urged Gerard to continue. 

"So, we were talking on the phone today and I just wanted to leave us on better terms. I only asked him to meet up so we could talk face to face. He took me for a drink and he- we-" Gerard dropped his eyes from Frank's. "We ended up at his house. I don't know what I was thinking even getting in his car. I promised I'd never go back there. I told myself I'd never let him near me again after he sent that fucking video. I'm just too fucking weak, I wanted it and I didn't have the self restraint to say no. He was saying so many fucking nice things to me."

As the tears began to roll down Gerard's cheeks Frank got up and sat next to him on the couch. 

"I'm sorry, Gee."

Gerard frowned and looked at him. 

"Why?"

"I wish I could make this easier for you. I know it's hard." 

Gerard snorted. 

"Yeah, a little." 

Frank grimaced. 

"Listen. You're not going to want to hear this right now, but none of this is your fault. Bert's older than I am, he knows exactly what to say to get what he wants from you. It's manipulative, but effective, clearly."

Gerard put his head in his hands. Frank slipped his arm over his shoulder and let him lean into his chest. 

"He's an asshole, Gee, and that's not your fault. I know what you're thinking. You told me once that it was _you_ who turned him into an asshole. You told me that he was never mean before the two of you started dating, but that wasn't you, Gerard. He just didn't show himself to you properly until he knew you were emotionally invested. Trust me on this." 

Gerard didn't look up, just shook his head. When he spoke, it was a mumble. 

"I know that he's an asshole. I think I've known it all along. But that just makes me a gullible, malleable, fucking idiot. Why the fuck did I let myself go back to him?" he said in a fresh wave of tears. "You're right. He knew just what to say." Gerard clung to Frank's hoodie. Frank rubbed his arm in the most comforting way he could. It broke his heart to see Gerard like this; his hair sticking to his face, cheeks red. Frank gently pressed a kiss to the top of Gerard's head and then just let him sob, creating little rain spots on his clothes. Frank hoped Gerard couldn't hear how quickly his heart was beating. 

***

It was almost midnight when Gerard extracted himself from Frank's arms. When he hadn't been able to stop crying earlier, Frank found the shittiest horror movie he could find and let it play while Gee claimed down. By the time the movie had ended they were both almost asleep and their limbs tangled together. Gerard blushed when he woke up. 

"I should get home. Mikes can probably swing by and get me. He's at a party a few blocks down." said Gerard, looking for his shoes. Frank sat up and stretched. 

"Will he have been drinking though? I can drive you if you want?"

"No, that's okay." he said hurriedly. "He's on meds. He can't drink. I'll text him now." 

They waited in comfortable silence. Gerard's breath still hitched occasionally. Frank looked at him sideways, hoping silently that he hadn't made matters any worse. Maybe he should have said something different. Maybe he should have been more reassuring. He was always bad in these situations, and in this case, that asshole Bert had clouded his rationale beyond recovery. 

"Mikes is outside." Gee said quietly.

"Okay, the door should open downstairs if you hit the green buzzer. It's kind of hard to see." 

Gerard smiled weakly and nodded, thanking Frank again for coming to get him and letting him stay for so long. Frank waved off his gratitude as kindly as he could and told him he was welcome whenever.Gee fussed for a few minutes with his mascara, unwilling to let his brother see that he'd been crying. Even after scrubbing with soap, neither of them were convinced that he looked tear-free, but Mikey was sending annoyed texts, so it would have to do. Frank opened his arms and Gerard almost had to stoop down to hug him. With a final wave, Gerard picked up his house keys and walked into the corridor.

"Gerard." he said. Gee turned.  

"Don't ever miss school for a bastard like that again. Your education's far more fucking important." 

Gerard rolled his eyes and gave a genuine smile. 

"Thanks, mom." he said, and disappeared into the stairwell. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Frank squinted into the sunlight and took a final drag of his cigarette. He was thirty seconds from bailing. He felt like too much of a creep hanging out next to the highschool. To make matters worse, there was an elementary school across the street and everything about this just felt shady. What if someone came out and asked him what he was doing there?

He checked the time on his phone.

2:59.

He crushed his cigarette butt under his heel and steeled himself. He'd walked all the way down here. With only one minute until the final bell, it was pointless turning around now. As soon as his phone was back in his pocket he could hear the bell ringing. Seconds later the quad was flooded with students. Frank glued himself to the fence and peered through the crowds in search of long, dark hair. The main rush of kids had thinned by the time Frank spotted him. He was walking down the steps alone. Frank's stomach dropped a little when he saw Gerard's hunched shoulders, head bowed over his books. He was staring fixedly at the floor as he walked, paying no attention to his classmates around him. Not that they were paying him any attention either. Frank was about to walk over just so the kid had someone to talk to, when a skinny spiky haired person ran up to him out of nowhere. Frank frowned, but when Gerard's face broke into a smile he relaxed. He recognised the kid. It was Mikey. But as soon as he'd appeared he was waving at his brother and melting back off into the crowds with a different bunch of people. Even from a distance Gerard looked deflated. He carried on across the quad and over to the gates, not looking up once. 

If Frank hadn't stepped out directly into his path, Gee might have walked right past him.

"Frank!" he said, positively beaming. The change in his demeanour was almost alarming. He scrambled with his books after almost dropping them in surprise. Frank laughed and pulled a folder from the top of the pile by way of help. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I was walking past, thought you might want a coffee."

Gerard grinned.

"I get it, 'just in the area' kind of thing." he shot Frank a sly look. Frank raised an eyebrow and returned his smile.

"Yeah, you know how it is. Small world." he nudged Gee and nodded down the street. "How about that coffee?"

Gerard bit his lip.

"I don't know, Frankie. I have this extra curricular thingy at four and we always take like 5 hours getting coffee. I should probably-"

Frank tilted his head and frowned.

"Gee come on. Caffeinated drinks ... School projects..." Frank waved his hands to represent a weighing scale. "Potential for your good friend Frank to buy you pancakes..."

Gerard sighed and tried to bat at Frank's hands, almost sending his entire armful onto the ground.

"Ugh. Fucking fine." said Gerard, making an effort to look irritated. Frank made a celebratory noise and began trying to drag Gerard down the street. "Hey, didn't you say I should avoid bastards who try and disrupt my education for their own benefit?" said Gerard. Frank just laughed and tugged harder at his coat sleeves.

"Something like that, but you shouldn't hang on to anything i've said, Gee. I'm just a no-good stripper, remember." he stopped for a moment, almost causing Gerard to run into him. "You know, Ray actually said that to me once." Gerard burst into giggles and nudged Frank in the side.

"He's not fucking wrong. Here, If you insist on dragging me away from my important extra credit classes, take more of these books, I can't carry them three blocks by myself."

***

By 5:30, they had eaten fourteen pancakes between them and visited a number of coffee shops. Gerard had to force a grumbling Frank into two different Starbucks after a barista had made a borderline homophobic comment to his coworker. 

"This is why we don't go to chain coffee houses, Gee." He muttered. Gerard just dragged him another block to the next one. 

Once they'd finished with their coffee, Frank took Gerard to their favourite comic book store and tried his best to remain calm whenever Gerard leant over him to point out particular issues. It took all of Frank's self restraint not to run a hand over the strip of white skin Gee revealed whenever he reached up for the higher shelves. He settled for biting on his lip ring instead. Hard. 

It was nearing closing time when Frank heard someone calling Gee's name. Gerard, obliviously engrossed in an extremely gory graphic novel, made no signs that he'd heard his name. Frank looked around and spotted Mikey by the door. He was with a couple of other guys who looked pretty spaced out. Mikey waved when he caught Frank's eye and started making his way over to them. Frank nudged Gerard who looked positively affronted to be interrupted in the middle of such a gripping story, but he his expression morphed into a joyful one when he caught sight of his brother. 

"Mikes!" 

Frank had never heard anyone so excited to see their sibling before. It was kind of sweet. 

"Hey, Gee. I can't be long-" he said, motioning to the two girls milling around next to the door. Gerard nodded. 

"You remember Frankie- Frank." he said. Frank was pretty sure he saw Gerard shooting Mikey a look, but it might have been his imagination. 

"I do." said Mikey, poker face completely intact. "Nice to see you, man." he held out his hand. Frank smiled and shook it, glancing at Gerard uncertainly. "So, uh, I was just walking by the store and I saw you guys so I thought I'd come say hi and..." 

"Mikey." said Gerard firmly. Mikey ignored him. 

"I just wanted to make sure you're going to look out for my big brother." he said. If Frank hadn't been mistaken he thought he saw the shadow of a smile in Mikey's eyes. It was gone when he looked again. "He doesn't deserve an asshole. He's had his fair share of those-"

"Mikey!" squealed Gerard. "Could you stop!" Frank laughed at the shade of red Gerard was turning. He smiled up at Mikey while he continued. 

"And I'd love to do the little-brother-talk in full sometime, but I just thought I'd give you a warning now that I'm clearly very strong and tough..." he said, motioning to his spindly arms. "I could take any guy in a fight any day. So be good to my brother or else." he said, finally smiling properly when Gerard began battering him with various comic books. Frank just grinned and nodded. 

"I'll be sure to take good care of him." he said, pulling Gerard next to him, partly to rescue Mikey from further assault, and partly because Gerard looked as if he was about to die of embarrassment. 

"Rad. Well I have to go. Nice to properly meet you Frank, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around. If you're at Gee's big show next week I'll be there so... maybe we could sit together?" 

Frank hid his confusion and simply nodded as Mikey gave a small salute and went back over to his friends, then promptly left the store without another glance behind him. 

Gerard was standing next to Frank with his head in his hands. He peeked out from between his fingers, making Frank laugh. 

"Okay." he said. "I promise you he knows we're not- I mean, he doesn't think we're-"

"Dude it's fine." said Frank, grabbing his wrists and trying to prize his hands away from his face. 

"It's just that, you know if you hang out with someone a whole lot- he's such a typical brother- he just like gets obsessed with making fun of me and he always refers to you as my boyfriend. It's stupid-"

"Gerard!" said Frank. "It's okay." he took hold of Gerard's hand and began to walk out of the store. His heart was fluttering too fast in his chest and he wasn't sure whether he trusted himself to say anything else. As they reached the door, still hand in hand, Gerard began to mumble about something. Glad for a distraction, Frank turned to him. 

"Huh?" 

Gerard looked wistfully back at the graphic novels and sighed. 

"Nothing." he said. 

"Oh, did you want to get something? I'll wait, it's fine. Go get it?" 

"No. It's okay. I don't have any more money with me, it's cool." 

Frank nodded slowly and, after a few more seconds of complaining from Gerard, they made it back onto the street. They didn't say much else, didn't even decide where they were going, just walked. Frank hoped Gerard couldn't feel his pulse through his fingers, because it was certainly not at a healthy level.

"So..." said Frank after a while. Gerard, who had been watching a butterfly on a shop window, turned to him. "You never told me you had a big show next week..."

"Oh." said Gerard, gaze shooting to the floor and staying there. Frank could literally feel his heart aching. Gerard always bit his bottom lip when he was nervous and it was adorable. "No, Mikey's an idiot. It's not a big deal really, it's just this event-"

"I want to come."

Gerard looked at him through his hair, eyebrows knitted.

"You really don't have to. It's not a big deal-"

"Gee." he said. "I want to come, okay?" Gerard looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Neither of them really seemed to notice that they'd stopped walking. Frank was looking at his eyes, which were a pale shade of brown, almost green. His eyelashes were long, almost feminine. It struck Frank in the pit of his stomach just how beautiful this kid was. He was hot too, sure, but that was obvious. Right then, at that moment, though, Frank could see that he was probably the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

Fuck.

 

"Yeah. Okay." he said softly. Frank turned away quickly, the eye contact becoming too much.

"So, uh, Mikey." he said, struggling to find safer territory. "I thought he was your age. He's younger than you, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." said Gerard as they resumed walking. "Mom got pregnant like the second she had me. She said she wanted me to have a brother who's close to my age so I would always have someone to hang out with. Kind of cute I guess."

"Awh, that's sweet. You guys are close then?"

"Uh, yeah we were super close when we were kids. I mean, I guess we still are." Gerard blinked a couple of times. "I don't know. I guess it's like all siblings, when you go to school and get different friends or whatever... things change. I can't expect him to be hanging around his big brother all the time." Frank looked sideways at him. 

"I guess." he said. Mentally he kicked himself. What the fuck else was he supposed to say to that? "He seems like a cool kid though." he said, nudging into Gerard a little as they walked. "Looking out for you and stuff." Gerard smiled and rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, being a fucking embarrassment. All that shit." he paused and then said quietly, "Yeah. He's a good kid."

***

Frank lay in bed that night thinking about Gerard, as had become common practice. It was becoming a struggle not being able to talk to anyone about it. He wondered whether keeping everything in his head was going to turn him into some kind of obsessive maniac. Probably. 

He thought about what Mikey had said over and over. Gerard had obviously told his brother about him, that was a good sign. Then again, Gee didn't seem to have that many other friends, so maybe it was just news to Mikey that he'd made one. Maybe Gerard was right, he was just fucking with Gee after all. Brothers do that, right? Frank wouldn't know. 

He turned over and tried to stop thinking so much, it was hurting his brain. All he knew was that he was going to this show next week. Maybe one day if he could stop being such a piece of shit he could actually ask Gerard out properly or something. Maybe. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something happens next chapter, promise...


	6. Chapter 6

It was dark by the time Gerard buzzed the apartment. Frank paused for a moment so it didn't look as if he'd been waiting by the door for half an hour. To be fair he hadn't been waiting for half an hour. More like 45 minutes. 

"Ready?" said Frank, making an effort to keep his voice steady when he saw Gee wearing his tightest jeans. 

"Ready." he replied with a smile. "I've got to be there in like 20 minutes, so we're good." 

"Awesome."

***

Frank parked about a block away and chattered to Gerard the entire way to the club. Gee, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically quiet. 

"You okay." said Frank as they rounded the corner. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." said Gerard quietly, sweeping his hair out of his face. "Just nervous, that's all."

"Shut up, dude. You'll be fucking awesome, come on."

Flashing lights loomed up ahead as they turned into the familiar alleyway. 

"They've really gone all-out." muttered Gee. Frank glanced at him, hoping that it was the makeup making him look so pale. The door was actually manned this evening, two bouncers leaning in the covered doorway. Frank and Gerard approached them. As soon as Frank saw the safety pin in the ear of the left bouncer he faltered. Gerard turned and raised an eyebrow. Following Frank's gaze he set his jaw. 

"I know." he said. "It's okay, Frankie." He reached out and tugged at Frank's sleeve for him to keep walking. Frank was reluctant. As they drew closer he narrowed his eyes at the asshole on the door. 

"Gee." he muttered. "What the fuck is he doing here?" Gerard said nothing and simply walked over to the bouncers with his head down. Frank watched as he pulled a card out of his pocket and flashed it at the guy on the right. He watched Gerard motioning back to Frank, who had stopped a few metres from the doorway, hands deep in his pockets. The bouncer nodded to Gerard and Frank reluctantly began to approach, eyes fixed on Spike. Gee shot him a pleading look and motioned for him to hurry up. Gerard jumped a little as Spike leant down from behind and muttered something right next to his ear. Frank couldn't hear what it was, but as soon as he reached Gerard's side he shot Spike his most poisonous look. He wasn't scared of this ass. Spike shifted to his full height and eyed Frank. 

Okay.

Maybe he was a little bit scared, but he held his ground. Frank didn't know where this feeling in the pit of his stomach was coming from, but it was strong. If Spike so much as laid a hand on Gerard...

Gee looked between them, hand on the door handle. 

"Frankie." he said quietly. "Let's go. I have to warm up." 

Spike smirked at them and watched Gerard dragging Frank through the door, glaring as he went. 

Once they were inside, through the tunnel-like hallway, Gerard spotted Mikey sitting with a group of others. They all waved. The club was surprisingly full. More than half, for sure. 

"Okay, Frankie, Mikes is over there so you can-" Gerard pointed to his brother.

"What did he say to you?"

"Huh?"

"Spike. The fucking doorman. The dude who mugged you four fucking months ago. What did he say to you?"

Frank knew that he sounded pissed but he couldn't help it. Spike was enough of an idiot to make passes at Ryan right in front of Brendon's face back when he used to come to their club. Frank didn't even want to think about the kinds of things he might do to a younger guy who didn't have the protection of close friends at work. 

Gerard fiddled with the buckles on his leather jacket.

"I really have to go and get changed-"

"Gerard." said Frank. Gee looked directly at him. Frank knew he was being a little fierce, but he couldn't help it. His brain was beginning to fizz at the idea of anyone fucking with Gerard. He told himself that he would have the same reaction had this been anyone. Spike was a dangerous guy. Everyone knew it. Frank just didn't want him being an asshole to his _friend_. Yeah.

"Did you know him when he took your wallet a few months ago?" 

Gerard broke eye contact. 

"It doesn't matter." He said. Before Frank could intercept again, Gerard muttered that he really had to go and that he'd find Frank afterwards. Frank was left standing next to the bar with a dangerously short fuse and a nag in the back of his mind. Next thing he knew, Mikey's hand fell onto his shoulder and he was being led over to his table and introduced to a bunch of youngish kids who all turned out to be dancers at the club. 

When Frank went to introduce himself, they giggled. He looked at Mikey, who shrugged. 

"We know who you are, dude." said one of them, a girl, Sasha. "You're, like, our favourite dancer at Bren's." That sent the rest of them into more laughter. Frank smiled uneasily, raising his eyebrows at Mikey, who was also laughing into his hands. 

"Alrighty, who needs a drink?" said Frank. 

***

Twenty minutes had passed by the time the lights in the main bar began to go down and focus placed on the now-black curtain along the back of the stage. Mikey smiled at Frank from across the table and said something which Frank couldn't quite hear. 

"Huh?" he said, putting a hand to his ear. 

"Try to contain yourself." said Mikey, grinning. Frank flipped him off and shoved his hands into his hoodie. To be honest, it was a fair point. He was about to sit through one of Gee's shows within a yard of the guy's brother. Nice. 

A few of the girls around the table had tried making conversation with Frank, batting their eyelashes. Sorry ladies, he thought. Not interested. 

Music began to play from some shitty stereo and the curtains twitched. It took a full thirty seconds for anything to happen following this, but when something did happen, it fucking happened. 

Gee strutted onto the stage. Skinny jeans nowhere to be seen and wearing motherfucking six inch stilettos. Frank bit the inside of his mouth and sat on his hands. This was going to be a long show. He glanced across the table. At least Mikey had the good grace to look fucking uncomfortable. 

***

"Gee, baby, that was fucking incredible!" squealed Sasha when he finally appeared from the dressing rooms, sweaty and grinning. Frank stood back, letting him work his way through the crowd of his co workers. The lights were back up in the bar as it emptied. Gerard was fetching more than a few glances. He pretended not to notice, but Frank saw the sway still in his hips as he walked over to a table to put his converse on. He laughed as the girls rained him in compliments. A couple of the guys patted him on the back and someone handed him a shot which he gladly downed. Frank raised an eyebrow and smiled, still staying a little way back. 

Sasha eventually announced that they were going out and asked if Gerard wanted to come. Only then did Gerard's gaze find Frank's. They locked eyes as he shook his head. Frank was a little breathless again when Gee looked back over at the girls and told them he'd catch up with them tomorrow. They hugged him one at a time and shouted various farewells as they made their way out of the bar. Gee smiled and gave a small wave, watching them disappear down the hallway.

Aside from a lone waiter scrubbing down the bar, they were alone.

"Hey." said Frank, stepping over to him.

"Hi." Gerard replied, showmanship quickly leaving him. He had the audacity to look fucking shy. After what he just did on that stage Gerard had no right whatsoever to look bashful, but he did, and he somehow pulled it off, too. Frank took in the eyeliner which was thinner, but still present; the blush, almost sweated off completely; the red slash of glittery paint smeared across his neck. He swallowed. 

"Told you you'd fucking smash it." he said. Gerard sat back in his chair and looked at the floor with a small, crooked smile. "You never said it was going to be just you up there though! You were fucking incredible. I was actually glad there was no one else there to steal the spotlight. You deserved all of it, man. That was rad." 

Gerard just laughed and shook his head.

"I'm serious!" said Frank. "Sucks for me though, now all the bar managers in the high-end part of town are going to be requesting you, you'll be a fucking superstar, you won't spend any time on us little people." he said with a grin. He bit his lip ring as he watched Gerard flush. 

"Fuck off, Frankie. You're the superstar here, Jesus. You're lucky I even let you come watch. I was pretty sure everyone would ignore me and just come to oggle your tatts." Frank gasped in mock-offence. 

"There is more to me than tattoos, Gerard Way." he said, earning another giggle out of Gerard.

"Yeah." he said quietly. "There is." Frank's heart almost stopped. He barely noticed Gerard frown and peer around the room. "Mikey?" he said. Now it was Frank's turn to laugh.

"Oh, he bailed, man." 

Gerard looked genuinely disappointed. 

"Oh." he said. "When?" Frank frowned.

"Uh, I think around the time the shirt came off." Gerard nodded sadly. "Don't bum out dude, it just proves how fucking hot you were up there. Think about it, if you were kind of crappy he wouldn't have felt like he needed to leave. He would have stayed for moral support or whatever. It was just really obvious that everyone was super into it." Frank said in a rush. 

"Really?" Gerard said, eyebrow raised. 

"Dude, are you kidding? Did you see that old guy in the front. He pretty much had a stroke whenever you went near him." he said. Gerard wrinkled his nose. 

"Well, that's something I guess." he muttered. "Anyway. Thank you for coming, Frankie. I know you bunked off work again for this so... I appreciate it."

"Hey, no worries, man." said Frank. "Bren gets it. Ready?" 

"Yeah. Let's go."

***

They were half way out of the door when Frank heard it. 

"Shame you're not in you silver gear, baby."

He froze and turned. Still leaning in the doorway was the asshole bouncer, Spike. There was no sign of his colleague from earlier. Gerard had pointedly continued to walk. 

"What did you just say?" said Frank. Spike raised an eyebrow and looked down his crooked nose at Frank. 

"I wasn't talking to you, sweetheart." he growled. Frank bristled. Gerard had stopped a few yards away and was silently pleading with Frank to just leave it. Frank ignored him. 

"Well you're fucking talking to me now." he said. "What did you just say to him?" 

Spike pushed himself up from the wall and cracked his knuckles. Frank had never seen anyone do that outside bad Mafia movies, but it was surprisingly intimidating. He forced himself to stand where he was and square his shoulders. 

"Frank." Gerard said. He even dared to step back towards the club, but Spike held up a hand. 

"Stay there, Princess." he said. That was it. Before Frank had any time to think his fist was making contact with what felt like a brick wall, but was, in fact, Spike's face. Spike reeled backwards and grunted. Frank didn't have a chance to congratulate himself, because Spike quickly righted himself. The next thing Frank registered was contact to the side of his head like a sledgehammer. He thought he might have heard Gerard shouting something before he hit the ground. The next thing he knew he was fading in and out of consciousness and being tugged along several dark alleyways, and then the lights truly went out. 

*** 

"Frankie?" a soft voice floated into Frank's mind. 

"Frank." a different voice. He felt floppy, there was a soft pillow under his head and something smelled like flowers. He wrinkled his nose. 

"Yeah, he's waking up." said the first voice. Suddenly, what felt like a cold slap in the face pushed him into wakefulness. He brought a hand to his face and looked at it, dripping wet. 

"Who's trying to drown me." he mumbled. 

"Thank fuck." said the second voice. 

Frank opened his eyes, light pierced his vision like shiny knives. He blinked a few times and adjusted, looking up at a white ceiling which was far too clean to belong in his apartment. 

"Where'm I?" he said. He blinked a few more times and looked to his side. Gerard's concerned face was peering at him from about three inches away. Despite the throbbing pain along the side of Frank's face, he grinned lazily. "Gee." he said slowly. Gerard smiled too and then ghosted his hand over Frank's face. 

"Yeah, it's me." 

A second face appeared next to Gerard's. A face surrounded by a halo of fluffy hair. Frank frowned. 

"Ray." he said. 

"Hey, don't take that tone with me. You slept in my bed last night, motherfucker. I had to rough it on the couch because of you." 

Frank groaned and tried to turn over, but a sharp pain in his head kept him where he was. 

"Someone decided to play the fucking hero and almost got themselves killed last night." said Ray in a sing song voice which made Frank wish that he had died after all. Maybe he was dead. Maybe this was hell. 

"It was pretty fucking brave, actually." said Gerard softly. Frank changed his mind. If he was dead, this must be heaven. Or purgatory, perhaps, if Ray was going to be hanging around too. 

"Go back to sleep." whispered Gerard as Ray sighed and began bustling with something on the other side of the room. "You're going to feel fucking awful when you wake up properly." Gee petted his hair lightly and then disappeared from view. Frank thought he heard the two of them muttering at the end of the bed, but he was asleep before he could process what they were saying. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay.. so... I could have added more to this but I wanted to post it as soon as I finished writing.... so that THING that was going to happen at the end of this one....will be in the next one. Trust me. 
> 
> ***
> 
> Comments/criticism welcome :) 
> 
> ***
> 
> Moon x


	7. Chapter 7

***

"Frankie, it's alright." said Gerard for the fifth time. Frank sat next to him on the couch with his head in his hands. 

"No, it's bad. That was your workplace. I shouldn't have embarrassed you like that." he said. Frank's head was pounding too hard for him to register Gerard's hand on his knee. "Like, it would have been fine if I totally beat his ass, but I didn't. For fuck's sake. I just couldn't stand him just  _looking_ at you like that. It actually made me feel sick." 

Had Frank been looking at Gerard at that moment, he would have seen the colour spreading over his cheeks. Had he been listening properly he might have even heard the slight hitch in Gee's breath. But he didn't, so he carried on.

"It makes me so angry to think about. I mean, you know the guy! It's not even like he's just some stranger. He has the fucking audacity to work pretty much alongside you after what he did... what he obviously  _continues_ to do. You need to report him." Frank paused, still not looking at Gerard, who was staring at him with a mixture of emotions on his face. The culmination of these emotions left him wide-eyed. "I swear." continued Frank. "Even though i'd look like a fucking idiot every time, I fucking swear I would punch him square in the face if I even caught him look at you again-" and before Frank could say anything else. Before he could miss another cue in Gerard's body language, he felt a gentle hand on his neck, pulling him closer, and then, for the second time since they met, Gerard's lips were on his. 

This, however, was different. 

Frank found himself wondering if maybe he had died after all last night, because Gerard's hands were sliding from his neck to his waist, seemingly stopping everywhere in-between. As Frank was pushed backwards onto the couch, they separated for a second and Frank could see the glitter on Gerard's cheekbone, the hazel of his eyes still shining despite the dim apartment. There was a rush in the pit of his stomach which seemed to connect to his arm because, completely without his permission, it rose and he ghosted a hand over Gerard's cheek, and then down over his lips. Frank only caught his smile for a fraction of a second, because Gerard was leaning back in again. Frank was almost disappointed that he couldn't keep staring at Gerard. Almost. He responded immediately as Gee moved his lips against Frank's. The gentleness of Gerard's hands contrasted so starkly the insistence of his kiss that it made Frank's head spin. 

He was not complaining. 

He slid both of his hands up into Gerard's long hair as Gee crawled on top of him. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Frank was very glad that he got beaten up. If this happened every time someone knocked him out, he would take up professional boxing. He was considering writing Spike a long thank-you letter when Gee pressed his hips down sharply, immediately driving any comprehensible thought from Frank's mind. 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... painfully, unforgivably short, because this belonged in the end of the last one... 
> 
> ***  
> (sorry)  
> ***
> 
> Next part will be soon!


	8. Chapter 8

Frank woke up with his face pressed into the back of the couch and a weight over his waist. He shifted a little and was met with warmth along his back. He smiled as he remembered who he was sharing the couch with. His head still hurt, but he didn't pay it much attention as he heard Gerard stirring. He turned over as gently as possible to avoid knocking them both onto the floor. Gerard smiled as Frank faced him. 

"Hey." he said quietly. Frank was smiling too, because at that moment he couldn't seem to stop. Sun filtered into the apartment through the only window. Though he'd originally been mad that he had to endure public transport, Frank was increasingly glad that Ray had kicked them out so early. The ache in his back, however, suggested that they should have moved onto the bed before falling asleep. 

Gerard's arm was resting over Frank's side, his other arm folded behind his head. His eyes crinkled at the sides as he looked over Frank's face. His lips turned up at the corners.

"You know." said Frank. "You're really beautiful." Gerard snorted. 

"You don't have to say that now, Frankie. You already got in my pants." he said, only half smiling. Frank frowned and brought his hand up to Gerard's cheek, mainly because he just could, but partly because the look on Gee's face was making his heart hurt.  

"What are you talking about? I mean it. You're, like, unearthly or some shit." Gerard rolled his eyes. "Gerard!" said Frank, sitting up on his elbow, leaving Gee peering at him from under his eyelashes. "Don't give me that look, you're fucking gorgeous." Gerard pulled his arm from Frank's waist and curled it tightly into his chest. His gaze faltered. Frank leant back a little. He lowered his voice. "Gee, you're the most attractive person I have ever seen. You think it's some big conspiracy that your club only fills up on the nights you dance?" Gerard said nothing, eyes fixed somewhere on Frank's chest. "Dude, they're not fucking going for the atmosphere, Jesus. They're going because you're hot as fuck. Not even Sasha can bring in the under-40s, but you manage it. You're good at what you do, and you- you just look incredible, alright."

Gerard glanced back at him, still silent. Frank reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. 

"And if they had any idea that you're also a pretty awesome dude... you'd probably have been kidnapped by now." This finally coaxed a smile back onto Gerard's face. Frank sighed inwardly, relieved. "Okay?" Gee paused for a second and then nodded. 

*** 

The TV was playing some awful daytime TV and Frank was standing by the stove in his boxers, moaning about his headache. Gerard sat at the kitchen table, seemingly drifting in and out of lucidity. 

"Gee?" said Frank, handing Gerard a third plate of pancakes and slumping himself into a chair opposite. Gerard hummed, already reaching for the maple syrup. "Are you- Is it okay that you're not at school." Gerard stopped, mid pour, and put the syrup down. 

"Well, I texted Mikey to tell them I'm sick, so..." 

"What if they call home though? Is that going to be okay?"

Gerard shrugged and picked up his fork. 

"I guess. Ma might get a little... concerned... but it's usually fine. I used to bunk off a whole bunch in junior year when I was with- uh- when stuff came up. The school don't really check up on us." Gerard buried the end of his sentence in a mouthful of pancake and Frank couldn't get another coherent word out of him until the plate was finished. He was staring out of the window, deep in thought, when a chair squeaked across the floor. He looked up at Gee, who was shuffling over to the sink. The sun hit the pale skin showing through his open shirt. Frank tried not to stare too openly. 

"You're right though." said Gerard. 

"Hmm?" 

"I should get back, I guess. I don't want to be in the way. You've got work in a few hours and-" 

"Gerard."

"-I'll just be a pain. I can get Mikey to get me in like an hour so I could always-"

"Gerard." 

Gee finally looked at him. 

"Do you want to stay?" asked Frank slowly. 

"Well, I wouldn't want to be a-"

"Do you want to stay?" repeated Frank, firmly but quietly. Gerard met his eyes and Frank felt lighting bolts shoot into his stomach. Gerard said nothing else, simply nodded his head. Frank got up from his chair and closed the distance between them until they were barely a foot apart. Gerard looked down on him, frowning at the grin which was playing over Frank's lips. He bit down on his lip ring and Gerard gasped when he slipped his hand into his open shirt. 

"Then stay." he whispered. 

*** 

"It's not that, though." said Gerard. They were on their way to Bren's club. Gerard wasn't working that evening. Apparently Mikey was covering for him at home so he could afford another hour or so. Frank wasn't sure if he believed him. 

"Dude, he leers at you and makes those fucking comments then it kind of is like that." said Frank, reaching for a lighter. "Like, we all know he's an asshole, but if he's harassing you then that's serious. He's known you for two years! He's basically been watching you since you were a minor, I mean..." He lit his cigarette and after a few drags he handed it to Gerard who grumbled as he took it. 

"Yeah, can we stop bringing that up."

"Sorry, Gee. It's just pretty fucking sick. Why the fuck didn't you report him when he mugged and fucking assaulted you?"

"Could we just drop it, Frankie?" said Gerard. 

"I'd rather not. What if he does something to you. He knows you're younger than the others-"

"Frank! I know I'm just a kid, okay! I don't need reminding every few minutes." he said, thrusting the cigarette back at Frank and jamming his hands into his jacket. Frank looked at him. 

"That wasn't what I meant. You know I don't think of you as a kid, Gee. I was just-" 

"Forget it." snapped Gerard. "Your shift is in ten minutes, we should walk faster." 

Frank bit his lip and nodded. They walked the remainder of the distance in relative silence. Outside the club Gerard looked around, hands still in his pockets. 

"Okay." he said sharply. "Ready?" Frank blinked at him and nodded slowly.

"You not coming in for a bit? Bren would like to see you again."

"I've got _homework_ to do." muttered Gerard, getting ready to turn away. Frank recoiled and tried to stamp on the nervous flutter in his stomach. 

"Gerard. Is this about the 'kid' thing, because I honestly didn't mean it like that. You know me, I was in your shoes. I know you're not a child or something. Do you think I'd have- we'd have- Look, I don't spend the night with fucking kids, alright." 

Gee didn't look at him, turning his head into the wind so it whipped his hair out of his eyes. 

"I don't know what you meant, Frank. All I know is that you're looking out for me like I'm in preschool. It's like you feel sorry for me or something... I'm not a puppy, or a little sympathy project So- so- if this is just a pity thing- whatever we've got going here- I don't need it. I don't need another parent, okay."

Frank stared at Gerard. Gee shifted, the ice leaving his expression for a fraction of a second. Just for a moment, he looked unsure. 

"You've got work." he said quietly. He couldn't seem to inject venom into his words anymore though. He sounded sad. It was all the encouragement Frank needed. He stepped forward and took hold of Gerard's hand. 

"Listen to me." He said quickly, before Gerard could pull his hand away or try to leave. "Tell me if i'm way out of line, here, but it's like you're looking for reasons for this not to work." Gerard still didn't look at Frank, but he dropped his head fractionally. "I know you've had shitbags in the past who've used you. I'm sure there's other shit that I don't even know about. There's no shame in it, we've all got baggage, man, but I want you to know that's not me. These last few months have been like- I've been so happy with you, Gerard. Just hanging out with you. So, I guess what i'm trying to say is, I don't just fuck. Do you- does that make any sense?" said Frank, losing momentum. Gerard sniffed and turned to face him. His face was in shadow so Frank couldn't even tell what he was thinking. Suddenly his heart was beating too fast. He didn't know why he'd felt the need to say all of that. The pause began to stretch. 

"I mean.." he said. "I totally get it if you want to forget about the whole thing, but-" 

Gerard stopped him by bringing a finger up to Frank's lips. They stood like that for a second, Frank looking wide-eyed at Gerard's silhouette. He blinked and registered that his hand was still on Gee's, he was about to move it when Gerard beat him to it. He moved his hand onto Frank's waist and then leant forwards, replacing his finger on Frank's mouth with his lips. 

For what must have been the 100th time in under 24 hours, Frank was pretty sure he could feel his heart melting. 

***

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Frank walked into the dressing room and was almost knocked straight to the floor when a small figure barrelled into him. By now he'd endured too many years of experience to even flinch. 

"Hi, Amber." he said. "You do know it's guys' night, yeah?" he said, removing her arms from around his waist. She was still in her trackies, but, as ever, her makeup was flawless. Frank had always been a little annoyed that she so consistently upstaged his eyeliner game. 

"Fucking duh." she said, turning on her heel and returning to her locker. "We've got city guys in tonight, all hands on deck." she called behind her.

Fuck. 

"Right, almost forgot." muttered Frank, heading for his own locker. He chatted absentmindedly with some of the guys before Brendon made his grand appearance in the doorway. 

"Okay, kids." He said. He didn't even need to raise his voice. The entire room hushed as soon as he walked in. "We've had this talk before. You've got a good chance of being spotted tonight. Ry's friends know people, okay. So if you do good tonight you might get the chance to do _really_ fucking good uptown, maybe even get some New York shows. I'm super fucking proud of all of you, you've been working really hard the last few months. Let's make it pay off." 

With that the room broke into fairly aggressive cheering. After one or two shouts of "let's do this", everyone got back to changing. Brendon was immediately surrounded with some of the newer kids who seemed to be losing their shit. Frank smiled to himself as he glanced their way. The truth was you never stop losing your shit in situations like this, you just learn to deal with it better. 

Frank was completely dressed and on his way to the stage when Ryan stepped in front of him. 

"Hey Ry." he said, about to move around him. 

"Frankie, Bren wants to see you." His tone hit like a stone in Frank's stomach. 

"What, now? Why? Curtain's in like two minutes. Ryan shook his head and pointed his thumb in the direction of the office. 

"He says now." Was that  _pity_ in his voice? 

"Ryan-"

"I'm sorry, Frank. Right now!" said Ryan, patting him on the shoulder and disappearing into the wings. Frank stood for a few seconds, mouth slightly open. He swivelled around. Ignoring the last few dancers rushing through the dressing room he began to make his way towards the back. The shutters were down over the window in Brendon's office. Fucking brilliant. He knocked at the door. He wasn't left waiting long. 

"Frankie." Brendon smiled as he opened the door and motioned for Frank to enter. The office was small and just as Frank remembered. Brendon barely used the office himself, so it was rare for anyone else at the club to go in there. They mainly just used it to keep the books.

"What's this about, Bren? I'm missing the first number." he said.

"Okay." said Brendon, taking a deep breath. "I'm really, really sorry to waste your time for this, Frankie. I should have called you earlier but you know how it is on big show days..."

Frank wished he would stop stalling. He could see the same look in Brendon's eye that he'd seen in Ryan's. Brendon was a good manager. He directed well, and he ran the club well. He took pride in what he did. He was strict on everyone, sure, but never unkind. Frank knew that he wasn't exactly being called in for a promotion. 

"Bren, could you get to it. Whatever it is, I'd rather just hear it now."

"Sure. Okay. Look, the truth is, Frank. I have to pull you from the next couple of shows." 

"What?" Frank's heart dropped into his stomach. He supposed it could be worse. He could have been fired.

"You can still come in and do bar shifts; serving and waiting. You're not, like, suspended or anything-"

"Brendon that pay is shit." said Frank. Brendon looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. 

"I don't understand." said Frank. "What did I do?" Brendon looked up and his eyebrows knitted. 

"Don't be difficult, Frank." 

"I'm not!" he spluttered. "I'm just- I honestly don't understand."

"Listen. I've known you since we both started out here. I'm not going to ignore the fact that you _can be_  fucking spectacular out there-"

"'can be'?" Frank narrowed his eyes. Music was thumping through the walls of the office, rattling the blinds against the window. Brendon raised his arms in frustration. 

"Frank! I love you man, you're one of the best we have. You're a friend, but you can't fucking pretend that you've been on top form the last few months. Come on, Frankie." he said, tilting his head to the side. Frank stared at him and shook his head. 

"I mean, I've missed a couple of day's work. I-"

"Oh my god, Iero. I could pretend not to notice when it was once every couple of weeks, but this is getting ridiculous. Don't argue with me, okay? Two weeks ago, you missed four shifts. Four! With no replacements! You should be thankful I'm not firing you. This is just for a few shows. You're not up to speed with the finale, your routines are off... I don't know what to say. I just need you to focus. Think of this as a wakeup call, okay?" Brendon said, running both hands through his hair. He leant back onto his desk. "I'm sorry." he said again, quieter. Frank dropped himself into the plastic chair by the filing cabinets looking stunned. 

"Okay." he whispered after a few moments. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry." 

"It's okay." Brendon sighed. "Sorry to shout at you. I didn't want to do that." Frank shook his head, staring at the floor. 

"I guess I should..."

"Go home and rest tonight, okay? Come in tomorrow and I'll put you up with a waiting shift." said Brendon. Frank nodded and stood up, still a little dazed. Brendon moved to the door with him and put a hand on the back of Frank's neck. "I'll see what we can negotiate about the bar-staff salary tomorrow, okay?" 

"Bren, no, you don't have to- It's my own fault-"

"Shut up." said Brendon firmly. "Now get out of here before I stop being so nice to you." he said with a small smile which Frank tried, and failed, to return. 

"See you tomorrow." he managed as he pulled his clothes from his locker and slipped out of the back door. 

***

Drizzle seemed to freeze on his skin on the way home. His mind was a mess, he felt like there was a blizzard in his inner ears. He hadn't dropped focus at work for as long as he could remember. When he started at the club he needed the work so badly that he would never even dream of letting his attention drift. He'd worked hard for three years to get where he was. Brendon had been telling him for ages that it was only a matter of time until he was able to move up. Brendon had always told Frank that he was destined for New York. 

Brendon's face was spinning through Frank's mind. He'd looked at Frank with such an unfamiliar expression. It was one reserved for the no-hoper auditionees who were trying too hard, for Ryan whenever he tried to make dinner, for health inspectors and other fucking disappointments. Frank kicked at a beer bottle, it smashed against the kerb and one of the shards almost impaled his foot. He swore under his breath. 

It was pouring by the time he reached his block. Of course he chose tonight not to drive. As he let himself into the apartment block, he found himself reaching for his phone. All he wanted to do was call Gerard. He just wanted to ask him to come over and watch some shitty movie, or maybe Star Wars, so Frank could watch Gerard's eyes go all dreamy and glazed. He was about to dial the number when he caught sight of the time. It was almost ten. He'd made Gerard miss a day of school already. If he came over now, Frank would never be able to let him go home, so he'd have to stay over. If he stayed over then they'd definitely sleep in. If they slept in Gerard would miss school again. 

Frank began to climb the stairs. He slid his phone back into his pocket. When he got to his apartment he'd have to settle for JD and Netflix as company until he fell asleep. 

***


	10. Chapter 10

It was late that Thursday and Frank was on the phone to Ray, intermittently yawning exaggeratedly at Gerard and trying to maintain a serious tone in his responses. Gee was sketching on the other end of the couch. Frank's apartment was dark, since neither of them had been bothered to switch the lights on since the sun set. How Gerard could see what he was drawing Frank had no idea. 

"Yeah- okay- yep- Got it, Ray-" said Frank, rolling his eyes. Gerard smiled absently in his direction. "Ray? Dude, are you listening? Okay, I've got to pick up some extra shifts at the coffee house next week, alright?- Yeah-See you tomorrow- 10? Are you fucking kidding? I don't get up until after lunch- No it wasn't my own fucking fault!- whatever.-  Yeah, okay.- Okay! Fine- Bye, dude." 

Frank tossed his cell onto the floor and crawled across the couch to drop his head into Gerard's lap, right on top of his sketchbook. To his credit, Gerard only looked dismayed for a few seconds before smiling down at Frank. 

"Sorted out?" he said, lifting Frank's head slightly so he could extract his book and throw it next to the phone on the floor. Frank flopped back into Gee's lap as soon as the book was clear. 

"Yeah, I guess." he sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "Looks like we can forget about any time together for the next few weeks, though." He said, gazing at Gerard, who frowned and began to run his hand through Frank's hair. "Gotta work."

"I thought Bren said he'd negotiate your bar salary?"

"Yeah, by like a dollar or two. He's a big believer in earning what you deserve. If I work on the bar, I earn bar salary." Frank paused. "He's right, though. Fair enough I guess. I just wish this whole thing hadn't fucking happened. Unless I work, like, every day in the coffee house, I'm not even going to be able to pay rent on time." Gerard was still frowning, eyes fixed on the blank TV.

"There's really that much difference in wages for bar staff and dancers?" It was Frank's turn to frown. He shifted out of Gerard's lap and pulled his legs under him. 

"Well, yeah. There isn't at your club?" said Frank. Gerard faced him and shook his head. 

"Not at all. I mean, we swap shifts sometimes to do whatever's needed. The pay's the same." he said. Eyebrows knitting further, deepening the crease above his nose. Frank had an overwhelming urge to kiss him to take the concern out of his eyes, but he resisted. 

"We've got to get you the fuck out of that place." he said. Immediately Gerard's expression shifted. 

"It's not that bad, Frankie."

"I know." said Frank. "And I know you can deal with it yourself, okay? But I'm just saying, you deserve better than that shit hole. Plus, they know how good they have it. They know you're the best dancer in this fucking city and they've got you basically free." Frank ignored the small shake of Gerard's head. "They'll hang onto that with everything they have. Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Bren? If you auditioned for him then he'd take you like _that-_ "

"I don't need babysitting, Frank." he said, bringing his hands into his lap and looking away. Frank sighed and leant back into the couch cushions. 

"I know." he muttered. A car horn sounded outside, headlights momentarily lighting the walls of Frank's living room. He blinked. "Gee, I have an idea. Don't be mad, okay, it's just an idea. But we could, like, kill two birds with one stone or whatever. If I reported Spike, anonymously, obviously, to the union then they'd totally put the club's name on their concern list. And then if we put in another report about the pay then they'd-"

"Frank!" said Gerard suddenly. He stood up from the couch and stormed over to the kitchen door. "Do you not understand?" Frank stared at him, bewildered. When no words came to him, he just shook his head. "You  _need_ to drop it about Spike, alright? Right now. Please. I know you're trying to help. Believe me, I know that. But can't you listen to me when I tell you that you have to _stop?_ " Gerard's voice cracked. Before Frank could stop himself he was on his feet. Another car passed outside, illuminating the tears running from Gerard's eyes. 

"Oh my god, baby." said Frank, crossing the room. By the time Frank reached him, Gerard's head was in his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Oh, sweetheart, please don't cry." he said, tentatively laying a hand on Gee's arm. When he wasn't shaken off, he moved both arms around him. "I'm not trying to treat you like a kid. I just care about you. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just hard if you won't let me look out for you-" Gerard shook his head in Frank's shoulder. "Huh?" said Frank, pulling back. Gerard stood up straight and ran his sleeve over his eyes. With a shaky breath he looked at Frank, shaking his head again, tossing his hair into his eyes. Frank frowned at him and cocked his head, reaching up to brush the hair back behind Gee's ears. 

"What, baby?" Frank said quietly. Gerard closed his eyes for a moment. 

"That's not what i'm upset about." said Gee. 

"Then what?" Frank stepped back, motioning back to the couch. They both walked back and sat down, except this time their hands were tightly linked. 

"It's Spike." said Gerard heavily. "He's- I can't leave the club. I can't report him. I can't do  _shit._ " said Gerard, shreds of anger returning to his voice. Frank forced himself to ignore Gee's hand, which had escaped his own and was running up and down his thigh. 

"I don't understand." said Frank. 

"He has complete control over me at that fucking club." Franks stomach dropped into his abdomen. "I'm lucky there haven't been consequences from when you hit him." he said.

"Gerard. What do you mean 'complete control'?" said Frank slowly. Gerard caught his eye and they widened. 

"Oh, no!" he said, moving his hand from his thigh to Frank's knee. "No, it's not anything...weird, don't worry." said Gerard. Frank sighed but the nausea washing over him didn't subside. "It's just-" Gee took another deep breath. "I mean.. I guess he's essentially blackmailing me. He's my dad's fucking nephew. If he told my parents that i'm-" Gerard covered his mouth to stifle a sob. 

"What? Gee, talk to me. Blackmailing you with what? That you work at the club? You've always said to me your parents wouldn't give a shit. Plus... he fucking works there too, technically-" Gerard shook his head again, vigorously. 

"No. No, it's- It's really complicated." said Gerard, regaining his breath. Frank rubbed circles into his back as he calmed himself down. "Look, to explain this I think I need to start from the beginning. I haven't been completely honest with you, Frankie. I'm sorry." Frank frowned. "I never lied to you! I just... lied by omission, I guess. So, my parents aren't neglectful or shitty people like I kind of led you to believe." said Gerard, staring into his lap. "In fact, they're pretty good parents, for the most part. They've always been caring and stuff. Never starved us or whatever... They think I take night shifts at a diner across town. So, when I kind of told you they just didn't notice where I went in the evenings, that wasn't true." Gerard looked at Frank, searching his face.

"It's okay." said Frank carefully. "Just- I don't get it, baby. Why did you say that if it wasn't true?"

"I'm getting there. Here's where Spike comes in. He's actually called James, by the way. He's always been an asshole, but this year everything literally went to shit." Gerard faltered and another tear crawled down his cheek. He wiped it away violently. Frank shifted closer and slipped his arm around Gerard's waist. Gee smiled weakly at him. 

"So, a few months ago Mom sent me to my uncle's to drop off some stuff. That's James'- _Spike's_ dad's house." He said, raising his eyebrows at Frank who nodded, still completely confused. "And our family's all pretty close so I didn't knock or anything, I just went in... and- Jesus Christ this is actually the worst fucking thing I have ever walked in on-" he said, covering his eyes with his hand, fingers splayed. Frank swallowed back a smile at just how  _Gerard_ the gesture was. 

"What was it, Gee?" 

"Well... turns out, Spike had a boyfriend... and I guess they like to fuck on the couch when his parents aren't home-" 

"Oh my god, ew." said Frank, hands flying to his mouth. "Gross."

"Exactly, but that's not the problem. The problem is- Okay, Frankie, this is what I haven't been telling you about my family. They are incredibly, unforgivably homophobic. All of them. Mom, Dad, and especially Uncle Matt; Spike's dad." said Gerard, eyes falling back to the floor. 

"Oh, baby." said Frank softly, running his fingers through Gerard's hair, brushing it back. Gee closed his eyes. Frank knew that he could never truly understand what Gerard's childhood must have been like. Frank was lucky enough to have reasonably accepting parents. They never pretended to understand, and they were certainly not happy about his choice of work, but he'd never been particularly conflicted over his sexuality when he was growing up. Maybe a year or so as he was coming to terms with who he was, but nothing extended. Sure, he'd kept it quiet at school. People suspected and they gave him shit, but in highschool everyone gets shit for something. It wasn't the end of the world. He had friends, all it did was teach him how to take a beating for things he couldn't change. Kids were mean, whatever, the important thing was that he'd never had to take the beatings from his parents; physically or otherwise. He couldn't imagine what Gerard had gone through. Frankly, he was surprised Gee hadn't succumbed to denial like so many other kids might have.

"Yeah." whispered Gerard. "It's just as bad as everyone says." he said with another watery smile. "I didn't let myself believe it for years, but then I met Bert." he shook his head. "That's another story." Frank nodded. A story he wasn't actually sure he was ready to hear anyway. "Anyway. My parents and Spike's were always really vocally against anything remotely gay. So it wasn't even like they pretended it didn't exist. They feel the need to bring it up and just emphasise how _sinful_ it was and how  _wrong_ it was. I didn't even know if I could tell my brother, you know, until we were fifteen and I realised he wasn't like my parents. Thank fuck.

"Is he...?"

"Mikey? Gay?" Gerard snorted. "Fuck no, but a few of his friends were. God- It was awful. This one time his friend, Pete, who he was super close with, used to come back to the house all the time. My parents even _liked_ him at first. He was a little slimy, if I'm honest, but he was outgoing and he looked my parents in the eye- you know- all the shit parents love. Then one night he was at dinner with my family and he just slipped it into conversation that he had a boyfriend and-" Gerard paused. "It was the worst night I've ever had. Pete was kicked out. Mikes was so embarrassed. They screamed at each other for hours; my parents and Mikey. I tried to help him but they just yelled at me too and I got scared. I hadn't met Bert yet so I was still so confused, but that incident pushed me further into the closet than I thought it was possible to get. It was horrible. I tried to date all these girls and I was so depressed, but I wouldn't let myself understand why. It was pretty bad." 

Frank rubbed Gerard's back and nodded. He had no words. 

"Anyway, bottom line, they hate gay people, or anyone _associated_ with gay people." Gee turned to Frank, for the first time there was a look in his eye which sent a chill down Frank's spine. It was a hopelessness he'd only seen a couple of times before. Instinctively he took both of Gerard's hands in his, hoping something in the gesture could convey everything he was thinking; all the love he was feeling. 

"So when I walked in on Spike with this other dude, you can probably understand why he was keen for me to keep it quiet." Frank nodded. 

"But I don't understand how that gives him control over you. Surely you have the control?" 

"Ah, well here's the thing. I would obviously never have told anyone anything. I tried to tell him that, but my word wasn't good enough. Spike's not the kind of guy who likes people having any power over him, either. So, at the time, he settled for punching me in the eye and kicking me out with the threat of doing worse if I ever told anyone. I hoped that would be the end of it but-" Gerard sighed. "Next thing I know he shows up at work. Turns out he'd been following me for a week to get any dirt on me. Lucky him. He got it. The guy's fucking 25 and living at home. Obviously he has nothing better to do than follow some 18 year old around all day. He cornered me after work and said all these horrible things and he said he would tell mom that I was a 'fag' and I worked with a bunch of other 'fags' and I would get disowned and Dad would hate me and I'd be all alone. I just cried. I didn't defend myself at all, and then, as if that wasn't enough, he started saying all this weird stuff about how he needed to keep an eye on me so I didn't misbehave or something. The next fucking day he had a job at the club, working on the door. I've felt so, so trapped ever since. Work used to be my escape, but now I'm even more stressed there than I am at home." 

"Hold up." said Frank, wrinkling his nose and sitting back. "He's your fucking cousin. Dude. The stuff he says to you..."

Gerard held a hand up.

"Don't even go there. I know." 

"When you said this wasn't 'weird', Gee..."

"I know. It is. It's totally weird." he said, joining Frank in flopping back against the couch cushions. "And I have absolutely no fucking idea what to do. The night you found me in that park, the reason he beat me up was just that he heard me talking to Bert on the phone about him and he _thought_ I was talking to Mom. He's a fucking psycho. I don't know how far he'll go to make sure I don't spill. This whole thing's a power trip and I'm too weak to even compete." said Gerard. Frank petted his hair, taking a moment to marvel at how Gee managed to look like a fairy even with all that sadness on his face, and after he'd been crying for half an hour.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Gerard." he said. He wished he had more words, but none were coming. He wished he could articulate what he was thinking; how he wouldn't let Spike control him anymore; that everything would be okay at home; that they could fix all this together...

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but I'm sorry you're dealing with it." said Frank. He meant it. His heart ached with how much he meant it. The nausea was still there, mixed with a tightness in his chest from the new intense burning hatred he felt for Spike. "You can't let him hold this over you forever, baby. You're too good for that."

"But what can I do? He knows everything. He got all friendly with our boss when he started working there. I feel like a fucking slave to him, Frankie. Its sick. It makes me feel sick. I want it to stop." Frank didn't know how to make it stop, so for the time being he just held Gerard as he started crying again. Frank shifted to the end of the couch and let Gee lie between his legs. Frank kissed the top of his head and silently fumed as he tried to comfort the kid sobbing into his hoodie. If he held any doubt before, now he knew that he would fight Spike to the fucking death if it was necessary.

He also knew for certain what he'd feared for weeks. This wasn't a crush. This wasn't a fleeting interest. This was certainly not just a fuck. He'd been trying so hard not to realise it because he knew it would be painful to admit to himself. He'd been ignoring the nagging signs in the hopes that they'd go away. Like the way he thought of Gerard 24 hours of the day, his smile, his hands, his hair. The way he bought motherfucking expensive comic books just because they were Gerard's kind of thing. The way he was willing to go up against men over twice his size just because they looked at Gerard wrong. The way he got himself demoted to the point where he couldn't pay rent just to spend a few more hours a week with Gerard.

He smiled into Gee's hair as he finally accepted just how completely fucked he was. 

"Baby." he whispered. Gerard sniffled and pulled himself off Frank's chest. He frowned when he looked down. 

"I made a mess on your shirt." he muttered, prodding at the damp spots on Frank's hoodie. Frank just smiled and grabbed ahold of Gerard's arm. 

"Let me?" he said, just as quietly. Gerard looked at him and nodded, expression unreadable. Frank ran his thumb under Gerard's eyes, wiping the eyeliner away. Then he pulled his own sleeve over his hand and cleaned up the rest of his tears as best he could. Before he dropped his hand, he ran it gently over each of Gerard's cheeks. "So beautiful." he whispered, almost to himself. Gerard dropped his eyes. "Hey." said Frank, slipping his hand down to Gerard's chin and gently coaxing his gaze back up. He'd meant to say something, but the look in Gee's eyes made him forget. The tightness in his chest was suddenly too much, his stomach was fluttering. 

"Fuck." he said softly. Gerard frowned at him. 

"You're crying." said Gee. Frank lifted a hand to his face. 

"Oh. Look at that." said Frank, laughing shakily. "Sorry." Gerard shook his head and raised his own hand to Frank's face, repeating his actions, wiping his tears away with his thumbs. He didn't ask why he was crying. He didn't say anything at all.

He stood up slowly from the couch without breaking eye contact. Frank peered up at him. Gerard held out a hand, which Frank took, and he stood too. Wordlessly, Gerard turned and led him through the gloom into the pitch black of Frank's bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heey kids, if you read this within the first few hours of me posting it, THINGS HAVE CHANGED just FYI. Nothing too drastic to the story, but just towards the end I feel like it was all muddled and the writing went to shit so I've tried to fix it up.   
> ***  
> If you see something you don't like let me know and I'll have a look at it. I'd always like to do better.   
> ***  
> :) xo MOON


	11. Chapter 11

"Sorry I'm late!" shouted Frank as he vaulted the counter and hurtled into the coffee machine. Ray didn't even blink. 

"We agreed ten o'clock, Frankie." he sighed, peering over at Frank from his chair outside the store-cupboard. He shrank under Ray's glare and impulsively flattened his hair, which was still considerably ruffled. "This isn't late, dude. This is might-as-well-not-have-come." 

"I'm sorry!" said Frank, pulling an apron violently from the shelves. "I had to- I was dropping someone off, family..." Ray rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the comic he was reading. 

"Unless you've been sleeping with your family members, I'm going to assume you're lying." said Ray. Frank made an indignant noise. Ray raised an eyebrow and pointed at Frank's chest. "Do you usually drop off family members with your clothes on the wrong way around?" Frank looked down. Fuck. 

"I got dressed in a hurry?" he tried. Ray's expression forced him into silence. He grumbled as he grabbed a cloth and began wiping down the spotless countertops. 

As usual, the coffee shop was empty. Weekdays were always slow, but Frank was surprised that even their regulars hadn't shown up. Hours passed in much the same way. Towards lunchtime a trickle of customers began to pass through, but this didn't last long. With every passing minute Frank was reminded why he refused to work shifts longer than two hours. He could almost feel his brain decomposing. 

When he finally ran out of things to clean, he slumped himself down onto the floor behind the counter. Ray turned a page on his comic book. Frank sighed loudly. 

"I'm bored." he said when Ray pointedly refused to acknowledge him. 

"You're so fucking lucky I'm your manager, Frankie." muttered Ray, turning another page and shifting slightly away from him. 

"What are you trying to say?" said Frank.

"Face it, you'd have been out on your ass before the end of your first shift if I hadn't been your boss. You're not a model employee, Frankie." 

Before he could think of a witty response, the bell above the door rang. Ray threw his comic into the store cupboard and moved over to the cash register. Frank reluctantly pulled himself to his feet and stood by the drink machine, making an effort to look as disinterested as he felt. Maybe Ray was right, he was a pretty shitty Barista, but who the fuck needed to be good at making coffee, he reasoned. No-one could ever accuse him of being a shitty dancer, and that was the important thing. That was what he loved doing. His stomach dropped a little as he remembered that he couldn't even do _that_ properly right now. It did nothing for his mood.

A few seconds had passed and no-one appeared at the till. Frank frowned over at Ray, who shrugged and leant forward slightly to see past the cold cabinets. He wrinkled his nose and mouthed something at Frank. 

"Huh?" he whispered. 

"Dru- How can we help you?" Ray cut himself off when the mysterious customer finally appeared over the counter. Frank looked him up and down. Ratty black-brown hair over his face, dark clothes, slumped shoulders.

Fuck. Bert. 

As soon as he stepped in Frank's direction he cold smell it. Booze and cigarettes, and... trash? He hadn't spotted Frank yet, his head was cast down as he staggered to the counter. Ray was struggling to disguise the shock on his face. He threw a glance at Frank when Bert made no move to respond. Ray was about to repeat himself when Bert jerked his head up and clumsily batted the hair away from his eyes. He mumbled something which Ray must have heard, because he jumped into action, probably a little too energetically, pulling a cup from somewhere and thrusting it at Frank. 

"Black coffee to go." he said brightly. Frank frowned at him. 

"Calm down." he muttered, shooting him a final look before turning to the machine. He stiffened as he crushed in the coffee beans. All he wanted was for Bert to keep his eyes on the floor and walk straight out without another word. From what Gerard had said about him, he wasn't the most pleasant drunk around. 

Frank turned back around, drink in hand, hoping to pass it back to Ray and escape before Bert even had a chance to look up. Unfortunately, Ray was nowhere to be seen. The storeroom door was swinging slightly. Frank scowled at it and turned slowly to face the ragged figure swaying next to the counter. What the fuck was he even doing? It can't have been later than three in the afternoon and he was completely wasted. Frank shifted on his feet. Unless he wanted to just dump the coffee on the counter and hope Bert would notice, Frank was going to have to engage with him.

He cleared his throat. When that prompted no response, he glared back at the door of the storage cupboard and steeled himself. Worst case scenario Bert would drunkenly swear at him and then leave. Ray owed him for this. 

"Uhm. Coffee." said Frank, placing the cup onto the counter. Bert blinked at the floor and looked around from under his hair before his eyes found Frank. Frank could almost see him trying to focus as his lips tightened. Something clicked and suddenly Bert was stepping forwards, right up to the counter. Frank started but stood his ground. 

"You." growled Bert, elongating the vowels almost comically. "You're Gerard's new toy, aren't you." he said. As suspected, slurring horrendously. Frank glared at him and said nothing. "Well...I have one or two things to say to you." he said, swaying to the side. Frank raised an eyebrow. 

"Dude, you're trashed. I'll call the police if you don't just leave. Okay?" said Frank, pushing the coffee towards the edge of the counter. Bert slammed his hands down, almost sending it flying. Frank took half a step back, guard well and truly up. 

"No. You're going to listen to me. You- You're so fucking smug, aren't you. All lovey and... cute and- Fuck you. You don't know  _shit_ about Gerard." he spat. Frank was just about ready to yell for Ray, or reach for his cellphone when...

"You can deal with him _now_ , can't you. Now he's all pretty eyes and- and shit. He's so _perfect_ isn't he. You fucking wait. Can you handle it, little... Frankie? When it gets fucking difficult. Fucking _real._  Will you be able to handle him?" Bert was raising his voice. He was barely comprehensible, but just enough so that Frank felt the skin on the back of his neck prickle. He didn't even notice the storeroom door edging open. Bert was still unsteady on his feet, but now he was looking right at Frank. 

"Can you fucking handle it?" he repeated, louder. "You're a fucking joke." he shouted, words all melting into one another, hair falling wildly over his face, but Frank couldn't take his eyes off him. He couldn't push down the bubbles of anxiety building in his stomach. "It's one thing to fuck him, kid." said Bert, all of a sudden quiet again. "But better find out what you're signing up for." he growled. 

"Alright. That's enough." came a firm voice from Frank's right. He tore his eyes from Bert and saw that Ray was brandishing the company phone. "Get out. Now. Or you're going to end up at the police station for harassment." 

Bert slid his eyes lazily from Frank to Ray and began to mutter something under his breath. He grabbed the cooling coffee from the counter and, with a final glare in Frank's direction, he turned and made his way to the door. Ray shook his head as Bert stumbled at the door, grumbling all the way, and finally exited the coffee house. 

Frank exhaled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and collapsed against the counter. Ray turned to him, look of disgust not completely erased from his face.

"Frank." he said. Frank raised an eyebrow at him and hummed. "You knew him?" Frank scowled and made a gesture suggesting that this was a stupid question. Ray's expression darkened. "Well so do I, Frankie." he said. "He used to hang around at the Way's. You know. Mikey and _Gerard_ Way. The same Gerard I assume he was shouting about..." Frank's eyes widened, catching on. Fuck. " _Mikey's brother_ Gerard." Ray continued. "18-year-old, in-highschool, I-know-his-mom, Gerard." 

"Yes alright, Ray!" said Frank, dropping his head into his hands. "Come and sit down. I'll explain everything if you promise not to be mad." Ray pursed his lips. "And  _not_ to tell his mom. Do you promise me?" Said Frank, squaring his shoulders. 

"First one, maybe. Second one, of course." he said and nodded, pointing them towards the tables. Frank took a deep breath in preparation for what was likely to be an extremely uncomfortable conversation. 

***

"Well." said Frank, looking at his hands. "Thanks for being cool about it, man. You know how anti-homo his parents are though so... It's really important you don't mention anything about this to them id you see them." Ray sighed and blew some hair out of his eyes. 

"I know, Frankie. And just for the record, I was only worried before in case... I don't know... You know how older guys can sometimes be shitty... Whatever. I trust you, obviously, and you seem really into him. You're right. He's eighteen, he can make his own choices, so... I was just looking out for Mikey's brother, is all i'm saying." He looked at Frank and smiled, perhaps in what was supposed to be a reassuring way. Frank nodded at him, but frowned when Ray shifted and bit his lip. 

"What?" said Frank. "You look worried?" 

"Oh." said Ray, flicking his gaze in the direction of the window. "No, not worried, just... Don't get the wrong idea but, uh, Mikey's on his way." 

"What?" 

"Well, I called him when I saw Bert in such a state because I initially thought he was maybe looking for Mikey or something? I always assumed they were friends when I saw him at the Way's because I didn't even know that Gerard existed. That sounds so mean." he laughed and then quickly frowned again. "But yeah, I don't know, I just figured he might know what was the matter, or maybe come and pick Bert up, but as soon as I mentioned his name Mikey got all worried. Then he started shouting at you and I told Mikes and then he just said he was on his way before hanging up."

"These fucking Ways need to learn to stay in school." muttered Frank. 

"Huh?" 

"Nothing. Listen, that's actually a good thing. Ray, can I ask you a favour?" Frank asked, not entirely sure why this thought had come into his head, but willing to run with it. "When Mikey gets here could I talk to him alone for a little while. Not to be rude or anything but-"

"I get it." said Ray putting his hands up. "You guys sort out what you need to sort out. When he gets here i'll go get more ice from the back or something." For the first time in a few hours, Frank's face broke into a smile. 

"Rad, dude, thanks."

***

As promised, almost as soon as Mikey's spindly frame walked through the door, Ray yelled a quick greeting and disappeared through the store room to the back. Mikey's eyes scanned the room behind his rectangular glasses and fixed on Frank. He graced him with the briefest smile before weaving through the tables to join him. 

"Hey, Mikey." said Frank quietly. Mikey nodded. 

"Bert came." he replied in way of greeting. 

"Yep."

"Is Gee in trouble?" 

"I don't think so." said Frank, before giving Mikey a brief rundown of everything Bert had said. Mikey visibly relaxed. 

"You got off easy." he said. When Frank didn't look convinced he smiled again. "I promise. And you don't need to worry about Gerard, Bert would have said if he was planning anything. He's just being pathetic." Frank nodded and glanced over at the door, on which they'd placed the CLOSED sign, even though it was only five o'clock. He inhaled through his nose and forced himself to look Mikey in the eye. 

"Mikes, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else... since you're here." Mikey stiffened again, sensing Frank's tone. "It's not good, but if he hasn't told you already then I think you should know, he's going to need as much help as he can get. It's about Spike." 

***

Frank couldn't get Mikey's face out of his mind that night as he lay in bed. The hurt in his eyes when Frank had relayed all the information that Gerard had given him the previous day. The fact that it was their own cousin tormenting him. And, even though Mikey had said that he understood why Gerard kept it to himself, Frank could see he was wounded that Gee hadn't gone to Mikey for help instead of his new boyfriend.

Boyfriend. 

Frank didn't even know if that was what they were. Sure they acted like it, but they'd never actually had a conversation to specify. Frank pushed it from his mind. He had more pressing issues to deal with. 

Like the fact that he and Mikey had spent nearly an hour in the coffee shop and another 45 minutes over text trying to figure out what they could do to help Gee, and they'd come up with nothing. 

Fuck. 

Frank turned onto his side and let his arm flop onto the other side of the bed. Gerard's side. He can only have slept there a number of times, but it was already belonged to him in Frank's mind. The pillow was still crumpled from the night before. Frank fisted his hand into the material and pulled it next to him, holding it close. It smelt like Gerard, obviously. He closed his eyes and just breathed, overwhelmed for a few seconds by the cocktail of feelings which surged through him. He opened his eyes. 

"I need a drink." he muttered. For the time being he didn't worry that he had another early shift with Ray tomorrow, or that he was supposed to meet with Mikey afterwards, or that he was working the bar all evening. He just wanted to get to sleep, and he couldn't do that if he was thinking this much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not a lot of cute or any Frerard whatsoever oops... more coming I promise, working on it rn :)   
> ***  
> HOW AM I DOING TELL ME??!  
> ***  
> MOoN xo


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey." said Frank, smiling widely. It was hard not to smile when Gerard wore his skinny jeans.

"Hi, babe." said Gerard through the car window, pulling the door open and flopping down in the passenger seat. Frank's heart fluttered. Gerard had texted him late the night before asking to be picked up from a Starbucks at 9am. Frank didn't complain once. 

"Where to?" he asked, shifting to look at Gee. "And how was the hell hole last night?" Gerard giggled and shook his head. 

"Fucking awful. But I'm here now, so..." he raised an eyebrow at Frank, who was pretty sure his heart just doubled in speed. Gee reached out a hand and gently tugged at the front of Frank's shirt, pulling him closer. Frank wondered if Gerard could feel the blood rushing at lightning speed just under his shirt. He would be surprised if he couldn't. Gerard smiled for a second and then kissed Frank. Hard. 

"You've got to stop doing that without warning." said Frank, breathless, after they broke apart. Gerard beamed at him. 

"In answer to your earlier question," said Gerard innocently. "It's a surprise, I'll direct you."

"I asked you a question?" asked Frank, in mock disbelief. "Fuck, I forgot." Gerard grinned again and tapped Frank's arm. 

"I'm not that good a kisser." he mumbled, reaching around for his seatbelt. Frank snorted. 

"You have never been more wrong, baby." he said. Then he turned his key in the ignition and glanced up just in time to catch the furious blush spread over Gerard's cheeks. It was going to be a fucking trial to keep his hands to himself for an entire car journey, that was for sure. Frank hoped Gerard's surprise was somewhere close. "Come on then." he said, pulling off from the kerb. "Instruct me." 

Gerard raised an eyebrow at him, then obliged with nothing more than a wry smile. 

***

"We're here." said Gerard quietly. Frank parked at the side of the road and peered around. They were in a typical Jersey suburb, long roads filled with houses just like his parents'. 

"Where's 'here'?" asked Frank. Gerard gestured to the house on their right and began to get out of the car. Frank frowned and followed suit. Silently they walked up the path. Gerard stayed close to Frank's side and clung to his hand. Puzzled, but not ungrateful, Frank squeezed back and looked up at the house. 

"What is it?" he said. 

"Home." said Gee, staring straight ahead. Frank wondered if he was avoiding his gaze purposefully. 

"Oh." he said. "Why?" Gerard didn't respond, but kept hold of Frank's hand. 

"Let's go inside." he said eventually. Frank looked at him, confused. Gerard finally caught his eye and smiled. "No-one's home." Frank breathed out, then a small smile flickered over his lips. 

"I do hope we're not going to be following the example of our good friend Spike and making inappropriate use of your parents' empty house..." Gerard covered his mouth with his hands and laughed. 

"Well, we'll have to see won't we." he said softly, leading Frank up the front steps and pulling a key from out of his jacket pocket. 

***

A few hours later Frank was flopped over Gerard's childhood bed in his boxers, staring at the ceiling. 

"You're sure your parents are out until the evening?" he asked for the fourteenth time. Gerard smiled patiently and rolled over to face him. Frank dropped his gaze and met Gerard's eyes. Gee nodded. 

"I'm sure. Mikes will text me when they leave my Grandma's, anyway, okay?" 

"Yeah." said Frank, reaching out to pat down Gerard's hair. "Can I ask you something?" he said. Gerard nodded. "Why, exactly, did you feel the need to bring me to your parents' house to do what we could have done quite happily on my bed at home. Or on my couch. Or on the kitchen table. Or on the floor. Or in the shower-" Gerard giggled and pressed a finger to Frank's lips. 

"Jesus, I get the point." he laughed. He let his hand fall back onto the bed. "I don't know. I guess I just kind of felt weird always coming to yours. Like, it's rude. I'm sorry I don't have anywhere to invite you. I wanted to show you were I live, you know?" Frank nodded. Gerard's eyes glittered. "Plus..." he said. "It's a pretty cool fuck-you to Mom and Dad. You know... actually  _fucking_ a guy in their house." Frank raised an eyebrow. "Okay... or  _getting_ fucked. The sentiment's the same." he said. Frank laughed and looked back at the ceiling.

"Yeah." he said. "That's true. And Gee, you don't ever have to worry about that kind of thing. I always want you in my apartment, and to be honest, I don't give a shit where we are." He scanned Gerard's face. "I just like being with you. I want you everywhere." he smiled. "Cheesy as fuck right." he said, willing his face not to flush. Christ, why was he behaving like a fifteen year old? He brought himself to glance back at Gerard and was reassured to find that he was blushing too. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Frank just watched him, taking in everything about his face. He followed him with his eyes as Gee pushed himself up and moved over to Frank on the bed, adjusting himself until he was directly over his face. Frank grinned and slid his hand behind Gerard's neck to close the distance between them. The kiss was sweet and slow, but somehow still full of heat from before. Frank was glad they were lying down, because he wasn't sure how well he'd be able to support himself had he been on his feet. 

"Fuck." he whispered when Gerard drew back slightly, their faces still only a few centimetres apart.

"What?" said Gerard. Frank shook his head and pressed another kiss to Gerard's lips, then both of his cheeks, then his jaw.

"Nothing. You're awesome, I kind of like you a lot." he said. Gerard rolled off him and smiled at the ceiling, then ran his hands over his face.

"You're more awesome." he said through his fingers. His eyes were ringed with black and he had the faintest tinge or red eyeshadow smudged underneath. His cheeks were pink and, for the first time in a few days he didn't sound so tired. Frank wasn't sure that he ever wanted to stop looking at Gerard like this. He wasn't sure that he ever wanted to stop looking at Gerard at all. 

He was opening his mouth to try and put some of his overpowering affection into words when three beeps rang through the room. Gerard physically jumped and scrambled up to extract his phone from his jeans across the room. Frank ran his eyes up and down Gerard's pale body, trying to remember every inch of it just how it was in that moment. There was something different about Gee when he wasn't performing. Frankie could go and watch him putting on a show any night of the week, but he wanted to remember what Gerard looked like right then. Standing, focussed on his phone, bottom lip sucked between his teeth. 

Frank found himself wondering what it was that Bert could possibly have been talking about at the coffee shop. He'd been trying to forget about it, aware that they were probably just words with the intention of scaring Frank away, but Bert was really drunk. What if there was some truth behind what he said. Frank took another long look at Gee and frowned. Whatever it was, he decided then and there, he could handle it. They would handle it together, because he was pretty sure that Gerard could kill a puppy and bring Frank the remains and it would just take one smile for him to be forgiven at once. 

"It's Mikey." said Gerard, breaking Frank from his thoughts. "They'll be about 40 minutes. We should go." Frank watched him walk back over to the bed. He knew that now was not the time to bring up what Bert had said. Frank didn't want to burst the little bubble they'd created for themselves that day. Maybe he'd talk to Mikey first. Gerard took another step forward and pushed his hand directly into Frank's hair, sending shivers down the length of his spine. Gerard ran his hand over the back of Frank's head until it was cupping the back of his neck. All Frank could do was watch him, lips slightly parted. 

"We might..." Gerard slowly sank to his knees so his face was just a little lower than Frank's. "Have time for, like, one more thing." he whispered.

***

Frank pulled his jeans back on as quickly as possible as Gerard disappeared into the bathroom. 

"I'll be like two seconds." he called. Frank nodded even though Gerard couldn't see him. They'd left everything a little late having been distracted for the third time whilst trying to clean up Gerard's room into an acceptable state. Mikey texted a few minutes ago saying that they had about fifteen minutes. Frank finally pulled the last of his clothes on and checked that he hadn't left anything. When he was satisfied he plopped onto the bed to wait for Gerard, who was singing loudly from the bathroom. Frank smiled to himself and ran his hand along the row of comics on Gee's bookshelf. He pulled one out at random and looking at the cover, he sighed immediately. 

'BERT' was scrawled in thick black sharpie at the top of the page. It was an old edition of an X-Men comic. He flicked through it anyway, stopping when something fell out onto the floor. He paused and frowned at it, reaching to pick it up. When he turned the glossy piece of paper over, his mouth dropped and he immediately discarded the comic book onto the bed. 

"What the fuck." he whispered. 

On the paper was a sheet of six photos. Shitty disposable print photos of Bert all over some guy, but the guy wasn't Gerard. Frank peered closer and then his eyes widened. 

"What the  _fuck._ " 

He brought the paper up to his face to confirm what he thought he saw. Yep. That was a safety pin in the ear of the other guy Bert was making out with. Frank jumped when Gerard's singing petered out and the door clattered. He stuffed the photos into his pocket and picked up the comic again. 

"Gee?" he said, as Gerard emerged. He hummed in response, moving to pick up his jacket and head to the door. 

"Did Bert give you this?" he asked, holding up the comic book. Gerard wrinkled his nose. 

"Ugh, not really. He left a bunch of them here and I just never gave them back. I haven't read them I just... I don't know, it feels disrespectful to throw out someone's art just because someone shitty bought it." he said. Frank nodded, while he knew that any other guy would have burnt the comics without hesitation, he also understood that Gerard had an artists' mind which probably slanted his vision somewhat. 

"Ah." he said. slipping the comic back into the book case. 

"Ready?" said Gerard brightly, holding an arm out to slip over Frank's shoulders. Frank nodded and walked over to lean into Gerard's side before they separated to go down the stairs and lock up. 

Outside Gerard looked up at the house. 

"Maybe one day I can bring you back here when everyone else is home." he mumbled, looking back up at his house. The wistful air to his voice tugged at Frank's heart. 

"Come on, baby. Let's go to mine." said Frank gently, holding out his hand. "We've still got the whole night. Pizza?" he said. Gerard turned reluctantly and forced a smile onto his face. 

"Sounds good, babe." he said, taking Frank's hand and letting himself be led back to the car. Frank willed himself to forget about all the concerning things swirling through his head. He wanted to make the most of the rest of his day with Gerard. Fuck everyone else. All the other shit would have to wait another few hours.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ?? IDEK ??  
>  ***  
> WHAT do you guys even think? heLP  
> ***  
> I've got like another two chapters written but?? Is it even???


	13. Chapter 13

Frank leant against the bar, head resting on his hand to watch the show. The twins were doing some act Frank had never seen before. He didn't much like it, but he was in no position to speak up. The club was almost full, and Frank was trying his hardest not to ignore the customers, as was his natural inclination. He winced as the new pyrotechnics burst into life. Brendon had been nervous about them. Last time the club used so much as a sparkler there were at least three fire-related injuries. 

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder from behind as the stage lights dimmed for the next act. He spun around. 

"For fuck's sake, Ryan." he said, "Kill me why don't you." Ryan grinned at him and took hold of both hands. 

"Sorry, dude." he said. "I just wanted to come and let you know that you might get your dancing place back by next week if you carry on like this." said Ryan, looking disproportionately happy. Frank smiled back, silently admiring the little flowers Ry had painted around his eyes. 

"That's awesome, Ryan, thanks for telling me. Did Bren say something, then?"

"Yeah. You gotta come to Tuesday and Thursday rehearsals for the next couple of weeks though." Frank's face dropped. 

"Are you fucking kidding?" he said. Ryan shrugged, still smiling brightly.

"In fairness you've been completely out for like two weeks. Bren wants to make sure you're on top of your shit when you go back in." Frank bit his lip and nodded. 

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Ry."

***

"Mikes, I need to talk to you about something. It might be nothing, but it could also be kind of important so... call me back." 

Frank pushed his cell into his jeans and walked quickly through the park on his way home. He looked around, realising a little late that he should probably find an alternative route home. The park was quiet, the hedges and trees muffling the city noise. He pressed on, his street now in sight at the end of the path. All Frank was thinking about was the prospect of dropping all his extra shifts at the coffee shop next week. He'd be able to pay for proper food _and_ rent. He was tired. It had been just over two weeks now, and already Frank was losing the will to live. To be honest, two days had been enough for him to doubt his resolve. Running on three or four hours sleep each night wasn't enough. On top of that, Bert's words had been spinning through his head ever since he'd . After he'd dropped Gerard off on Sunday morning he'd had to pull into a gas station to calm himself down. He'd been feeling so fucking weird lately and he blamed his tendency to get emotional on constant lack of sleep. 

Regardless, he was pretty sure the stress was causing him to develop heart palpitations. His stomach always felt tight, he didn't even feel like eating much anymore. This shit needed to stop. He shook his hair out of his eyes as he broke out of the hedges into the well-lit street. He turned down towards his apartment and walked as fast as he could. His thoughts were smudging at the edges. He was too tired.

As he turned the key in his apartment door, he absently wondered if he was losing his mind over this whole situation. Every time the phone rang he was acting like a concerned mother, dashing to pick it up in case it was Gee in trouble. Or worse, Mikey, telling him that Gee was- It wasn't worth thinking about, but the fact that it wasn't all that unlikely sent his stomach into the ground. 

He kicked off his Chucks and threw his jacket over the couch. He managed to remove his pants, but didn't bother with anything else before flopping onto his bed. He automatically reached for the pillow on the other side of the bed and held it to his face, putting all his energy into thinking about the day he'd spent with Gerard on Saturday in the hopes that it would ward off thoughts of a less pleasant nature until he lost consciousness.

***

"Did you bring it?" asked Mikey, pulling off his beanie as he stepped up to the counter. He flashed a quick smile at Ray before turning his attention back to Frank. Ray waved in response and promptly disappeared into the store room.

"Yeah." said Frank, digging a hand into his cargo pants. "Here." he slid the photos across to Mikey, who adjusted his glasses and peered at the paper intently, scanning each little photo. 

"And you think that's my c-" 

"Spike. It is." said Frank, peering over the counter to get another look, even though he'd been almost constantly staring at the pictures ever since he took them from Gerard's room. "I found it in one of Bert's comics. Don't fucking know why Gee still has it." he muttered. Mikey shrugged, eyes fixed back onto the paper. "He hasn't seen this though." added Frank. "He said he hand't even opened the comic since Bert left them there. It must have been an accident, right?" he said, trying and failing to read Mikey's expression. 

"Dude." said Mikey, frowning and pointing at a spot on the paper. Frank raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds Mikey had offered no further explanation, but he narrowed his eyes and then looked off to the side. He was muttering something under his breath and appeared to be counting on his fingers. 

"Dude, what?" said Frank after a little longer. Mikey shook his head and dropped the photos back onto the counter, towards Frank. 

"You see that?" he said, pointing to a little black squiggles on the white strip between each photo. "Timestamp, and the date." he said. Frank picked up the photo and squinted at the squiggles. Mikey was right. He was right, there were dates printed in tiny writing underneath each shot. Frank looked up at Mikey. 

"Last year some time." said Frank. 

"Yeah." said Mikey. "When he was dating my brother." he said, lips falling into a tight line. A rare flash of emotion crossed his face. "That fucker. That's so fucking weird." said Mikey. Frank's eyebrows knitted at the force in Mikey's usually bland voice.

"I thought we knew he cheated already?" said Frank. 

"Oh we did." said Mikey. "We just didn't know it was with his fucking cousin too." Mikey ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up at angles. "It was bad enough when Gee found him getting sucked off by some girl at a party. Then Bert sent emailed everyone that motherfucking video. Shit." Mikey stepped back and shook his head in disbelief. "Frankie." he said suddenly, focussing his gaze. "Gee was  _crushed_ when he found Bert cheating the first time around. He was even willing to forgive him at first, but then the video got around... I couldn't get him out of bed for two weeks." 

Frank's heart sank. 

"I don't think we should tell him." said Mikey. 

"What? Why?" said Frank, keeping his voice even. Mikey gave him a look anyway. 

"Don't be like that, Frank. I know you guys have something going on, okay. I'm not trying to protect Bert or anything. You just have to understand that Gerard can be really fragile. I'd like to think he's over Bert. I really would. The guy was fucking poison, but the truth is, it might still be hard for him to hear. That was his first boyfriend. I was the guy who helped show him who he was, and the fact that the guy's a dick doesn't change that, especially to Gee. If nothing else, they were best friends for like two years." Frank looked down at the counter. Mikey sighed. "Dude, I'm not saying he's still into Bert, do you understand that? You just have to accept that this is a fucked up situation. Imagine what it would be like hearing that the first guy you ever dated was getting with your abusive, psycho cousin behind your back and you never even found out. He's  _fragile,_ Frankie." said Mikey gently. Frank nodded. "Look. It wasn't just Spike and that chick. Bert was cheating with a ton of other people. He went to parties every weekend, some with Gee, some without. He wasn't faithful or loyal even in the slightest. He didn't give a shit. Gerard was too naive to see it. Or maybe he chose not to, either way, it took him witnessing it with his own eyes for him to finally dump the asshole, but it completely broke him. As soon as I saw that, I knew I couldn't tell him about all the others. He wouldn't have been able to take it. That doesn't change now. I'm not going to tell him about this, and I don't want you to tell him. No matter how much you hate Bert." 

"I won't, Mikey. I - I really care about your brother, alright. I want you to know that you can trust me not to do anything that'll hurt him."

"Okay." said Mikey, face blank. "He's had it really rough you know, and I do trust you, but shit's about to get really fucked up and it's probably going to effect anyone close to him. I'm not willing to stop until we get Spike off his back, and if that means telling mom then that's what I'll do, but it'll break Gee again and-"

What are you getting at, Mikes?" said Frank with a sigh. Mikey looked at him for a second and pushed his glasses up his nose. 

"I think..." he said. "I think what I'm trying to say is that... Don't take this the wrong way-"

"Just say it."

"I like you, Frank. You seem to be one of the most genuine guys Gerard's ever managed to associate with, but I'm trying to tell you that i'm not about to watch my big brother get smothered by that asshole. I'm going to do whatever it takes, even if it becomes... inconvenient for those around him. So... I just- Spike's no teddybear." For the first time since Frank had met him, Mikey looked uncomfortable. He fiddled with his beanie. Mikey pushed his glasses back up his nose and looked up. Now he looked... apologetic.

"I'm trying to give you an out, Frank." he said quietly. Frank immediately shook his head vigorously. Mikey held up a hand. "Don't freak out, man. I just get that you didn't sign up for any of this. I wouldn't think any worse of you if you bailed now. I'm thinking of both you and Gee, here. It'll be easier on him if you got out of there before it got difficult. I don't want to dump our family problems on you, you'll just end up resenting all of us and that's not-"

"That's such bullshit, Mikey-"

"I know you don't want to leave right now! I know you're into him. But even Bert seemed pretty supportive towards the beginning. My brother can get a little tricky when stuff gets intense, Frank. And everything's about to get intense again..."

"Mikey." said Frank firmly, ignoring the crack which had appeared in the storeroom doorway. "I am going to tell you this once, and I want you to listen to me. I am not going to be another disaster story in Gerard's life. I refuse. I  _really_ care about him. I don't actually know what I would do without him at this point. I don't care if I have to get beat up another 12 times over this, I don't care if Gee becomes a recluse for a month, I want to be there. And, believe me, unless he asks me to leave, I'm not going anywhere. I will not resent you, or him. This is not your fault, and to beat this fucking situation you need all the help you can get." Frank leant forwards onto the counter to make sure Mikey was looking right at him. He needed him to see just how much he meant this... "I want to help."

Mikey studied him silently for a full five seconds. Frank held his breath. It wasn't that Mikey would scare him away from Gee, but he knew that a brother's disapproval was no walk in the park. So when he nodded Frank almost collapsed onto the counter in relief. He exhaled and stood up straight. 

"Good." he said, a little breathlessly. He batted down the sudden urge to shake Mikey's hand. "Now we've got that sorted, let's talk about this asshole cousin of yours."

***

"Frank, I don't know if I can!" said Mikey, biting his bottom lip. 

"You can." said Frank. " I would, but he'd never talk to me. It's the only option we have right now. Promise me you'll do it tonight?" Mikey looked at his lap and sighed before nodding. 

"Yeah, okay." he pulled his shoulder bag from the floor and stuffed his hair back into his beanie. "Thanks for helping, Frank." he said on the way out of the coffee shop. Frank smiled and shook his head. 

"No worries, man. Like I said, I want to sort this out." Mikey paused in the doorway and tapped his fingers against the strap oh his bag. 

"And..." he said quietly. Frank raised his eyebrows in question. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to sound like I was doubting you. I just-" Frank waved a hand and shook his head. 

"Forget about it, dude. You're looking out for your brother. I'd be the same."

Mikey smiled in appreciation and turned to go, shouting 'Goodbye' back to Ray before disappearing into the dark street. Frank watched to make sure he got to the subway safely and with a final wave, stepped back into the shop, only to be met by a very disapproving Ray. 

"Are you ever going to do your job around here?" he said, rounding the counter and thrusting a mop into Frank's arms. 

"Hopefully not." said Frank, taking it and then spinning away to dance between the tables. 

"For fuck's sake." muttered Ray. He walked over to flip the door sign to 'CLOSED', making a clear effort to ignore Frank's loud singing.

***

Gerard shuffled into Frank's apartment without a word. Frank watched with a raised eyebrow as he made a bee-line for the couch, flopping down face first. 

"How was school?" asked Frank. Gerard groaned loudly into the couch. Frank smiled. "That bad, huh?" Gerard started mumbling something. Frank sat on the edge of the couch and cut him off with a hand to his back. "Can't hear you, Gee."

Gerard turned over onto his back and scowled at Frank. 

"I thought kids stopped stealing lunch money in like fourth grade." he said. Frank sucked the air through his teeth and petted Gerard's cheek. 

"Fuck 'em." he said. "They're jealous 'cause you're pretty." he smiled when Gerard threw his arms over his eyes in exasperation. "And because you're dating me, and I'm pretty cool." said Frank, pulling himself up and heading to the kitchen. Gerard snorted and rolled onto his side to watch Frank leaving. 

"I think they might actually kill me if they knew I was dating you, babe." he called. Frank turned in the doorway and smiled down at Gee, who was looking at him upside down. 

"Did you not eat today at all?" he asked. Gerard made a face, scrunching his nose. 

"Mikes gave me half a sandwich?" he said. "That count?" 

"No." said Frank. "Pancakes?" 

Frank wasn't sure he'd ever seen Gerard move so fast. 

***

 


	14. Chapter 14

"Can I ask you about work?" asked Frank. The room was dark and quiet. He had no Idea what time it was, but they'd stopped watching TV at least an hour and a half ago. Gerard had insisted they move into Frank's room because he couldn't be bothered to bring the duvet 'all the way' out to the couch. Frank was happy enough to oblige. 

He heard Gerard shift. 

"Yeah?" he said. 

"Is it still bad?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Just because of-?"

"And I still don't really have any friends there. Makes it a little lonely, you know?" he mumbled. Frank nodded and reached around for Gerard's hand. He found it and squeezed tight. "I'm handling it though." he said. There was a long pause. "I've got you. You help me handle it." Frank gazed into the dark, trying to make out the outline of Gerard's face. 

"No." he whispered. "It's all you, baby. You're handling it yourself."

"I wouldn't be able to do it without you." he said firmly. Firmly for Gee, at least. Frank smiled into the darkness. "I was so close to breaking when you found me. It sounds stupid-"

"It doesn't sound stupid."

"You made me so much stronger, Frankie. You make me feel..." he paused again. "Better. I don't know how else to put it. I feel better with you." 

Frank didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell Gerard just how he made  _him_ feel, but he wasn't sure if he could find the right words in time...

"So, thank you." finished Gerard, running his hand up Frank's arm. Then he ghosted a thumb over Frank's cheekbone and dropped back down to hold his hand again. Frank marvelled at how his stomach still flipped at the contact. 

"Sometimes," said Gee quietly. "I even think I can wait this out. My contract finishes when I finish school, I only signed for a year, so if I last a few more months then-" 

Frank's thoughts drifted as Gerard spilled out hopeful words. There was no way Frank was going to let Gerard last even one more month of this stress, let alone another five or six. He just hoped that the plan he and Mikey were piecing together would do more good than harm. 

"- and I'm nineteen in a few weeks, so my parents will be even more relaxed about me doing stuff. I'll be able to stay over way more." said Gerard. Frank rolled over to flip the light on. Gerard winced at the sudden brightness. "What was that for?" he squeaked. Frank laughed. 

"So I can see you when I do this..." he said, moving back and throwing his leg over Gerard's hips so he was sitting on top of him. Gerard gasped and then grinned. 

"Frankie, it is three in the morning-" Gerard broke off as soon as Frank leant forwards and his hands found their way into Gee's hair. 

"Shh." he said as he leant down and caught Gerard's bottom lip between his own. "Skip school tomorrow?" he breathed when they broke apart a few minutes later. Gerard raised an eyebrow. 

"You're such a fucking bad influence." he said, pulling Frank back towards him by the shirt. Frank didn't need further confirmation to work out the answer to his question.

***

"Frank, I don't know if this is a good idea." said Mikey. They were sitting outside a Starbucks a few blocks from Gee's club. Frank glanced up the street and flicked his cigarette onto the sidewalk. "Maybe I should talk to him alone."

"Mikes, It's fine. You said he sounded sober on the phone?" he said. Mikey nodded. 

"Then it'll be okay. I want to talk to him too." Mikey's lips tightened but he nodded again. Frank looked up in time to catch his eyes widen.

"Fuck." muttered Mikey. "Too late now, anyway. Here he comes."

Bert was approaching with his shoulders hunched and hair falling over his face. Frank could just make out sunglasses perched high up on his nose. He stiffened as Bert approached. At least he didn't smell of alcohol today. Mikey raised a hand to catch Bert's attention. He nodded and then froze. Frank couldn't see behind his glasses, but it was a safe bet that Bert had just caught sight of Frank. 

"Fuck no." he muttered, and looked about ready to turn back around again. Mikey was on his feet before Frank could even react. 

"Bert." he said, placing a hand on his bicep. Bert hesitated, looking up at Mikey. 

"What the fuck is he doing here." he muttered, jabbing a thumb in Frank's direction. Frank set his jaw. 

"I didn't tell you he was coming because I knew you wouldn't turn up." said Mikey. "Please, Bert. Just ignore him if you need to. This isn't a fucking joke, alright." Bert shook his head and tried to pull his arm out of Mikey's grip. "Come on, Bert. For Gee." Bert still struggled against Mikey's hold. "Don't you at least want to know what's going on." sighed Mikey in a final attempt. Bert paused, took a second to glare at Frank from behind his shades, and grunted. 

"Fine. Whatever."

Bert moved over to the table and sat down opposite Frank. Mikey joined them and raised his eyebrows at Frank before turning to Bert.

"We've got something to ask you, Bert. We need your help, basically. But first, I guess you should know what's going on."

***

By the time they finished, Bert was sitting with his head in his hands. Frank glanced at Mikey, who shrugged. 

"You okay, man?" said Mikey. Bert nodded and raised his head. He looked between Frank and Mikey, then removed his sunglasses, tossing them onto the table. He ran his hands over his eyes and blinked. Frank looked at him, expressionless. 

"So..." said Frank. "We were hoping that you could talk to Spike, since you seem pretty friendly with him." Bert looked up. If he'd seemed shifty before, it was nothing to how he looked now. His hostility had melted away as Mikey had outlined Gee's dilemma. By the time Frank got onto the photographs he found, Bert almost looked guilty. To say Frank was shocked would have been an understatement. 

Bert shook his head. 

"I'm sorry." he said. Mikey shifted. 

"What?" he said, unable to hide the surprise in his voice. 

"I said, I'm sorry." said Bert. "I never meant for this to happen."

"What do you mean?" said Frank sharply. Mikey nudged him and Frank frowned. Mikes mouthed 'chill out'. Frank pursed his lips and sat back in his chair.

"Bert." said Mikey. "What do you mean? You didn't mean to cheat on Gee?" Bert flinched and refused to meet Mikey's eyes. Mikey exhaled heavily and fisted his hand under the table. Frank eyed him. He hoped Mikey could keep his cool, because he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to contain himself.  

"No, I meant- Your cousin. He was- I didn't want it to get like this." 

"Okay Bert, I'm going to need you to get to the point." said Frank. Mikey didn't reprimand him this time. He looked glad of the interruption. 

"Alright." said Bert quietly. He looked a mess. Frank was wondering if he was actually drunk after all. "I only hooked up with your cousin a few times. The first time, I didn't even know he was related to Gee, okay. I swear." he looked between Frank and Mikey, who wore matching masks of indifference at this point. "I'm so sorry." he said. "But he was really charming, we got along. As friends, you know? We hung out, but then the texted me one day saying he was with this other guy who would shank me if I ever went near either of them again. So I just left it, you know? I wanted to make it up to Gerard anyway. I know I was trading him wrong, so I tried to really clean up, you know." At this Mikey visibly stiffened. Frank began to form a mental plan of action in case a fight broke out. "But I'd still see Spike around, you know?" continued Bert, oblivious. "One night he came over to my apartment and I was all like 'what the fuck', you know? What the fuck was he doing there? And then he said all this stuff, and he was so angry and he was talking about Gerard and his family and shit. It was weird, I think he was on crack, you know? Anyway, he started saying that he had this revenge plan to make sure Gee didn't spill that he was a homo to the family. I just went with it. I gave him a drink and we hung out so he could vent. He said he was gonna-" Bert swallowed and faltered, scratching over his stubble nervously. "He said all these things about following Gee and making his life hell and stuff. I just gave him more booze to make him shut up. I didn't think he was serious..."

"Is that all, Bert?" said Frank tightly.

"Uh."

"Tell the fucking truth, you complete ass." said Mikey. Instead of rising to it like Frank expected, Bert shrank further into his chair, flipping his hair over his face.

"I saw him a few times recently. He was always high and whatever, but he was saying that he had Gee under control. He kept saying that. He said he had everything 'under control', you know? I don't remember anything else-"

"Bert." said Frank. "I want you to think very carefully about whether you remember anything else that Spike said to you about Gerard." 

"I- uh- I think actually, maybe there was one other thing." he muttered. 

"Speak up."

"He also- uhm- said some stuff about maybe beating him up or whatever." Bert clearly realised the connotations of what he just said and scrambled to redeem himself "But he said he was just thinking about it- he never said he would do it... He was just angry, he was just joking, you know?" Mikey shook his head and stood. 

"You're a fucking coward, man." he said. "I knew you were an asshole, but I really had no idea you were such a coward. If you had any idea what you've let my brother go through... I bet you wouldn't even give a shit, would you." spat Mikey. Bert stayed where he was as Frank got up too. He looked up at them helplessly. He didn't argue. 

"I'm sorry." he said, finally hanging his head again. 

"It's not enough, dude." said Mikey, almost sadly. He started to leave, Frank went to follow him. Just as Bert relaxed, Frank spun around and walked back over to the table, standing directly over Bert. 

"You had some fucking balls to come into my work and lecture me about dealing with Gee." said Frank venomously. "You can't even deal with yourself." He stared down at Bert, who was gazing back up at him sadly. "You're a drunk." said Frank. "You're pathetic. Thanks to your cowardly ass Gerard might have been  _killed,_ Bert. Don't you get it?" Frank was beginning to turn heads in Starbucks. Mikey shifted uneasily behind him, clearly reluctant to rescue Bert, but also wary that someone might call the police. Frank wasn't finished, though. "Because your little friend doesn't know how to control his temper, my boyfriend could have _died_. Does that mean anything to you?" Frank spat at Bert's feet. Mikey chose that moment to intervene. 

"That's enough." he muttered into Frank's ear. 

"If it hadn't been for _me_ he might have died. _I_ was fucking there, not you." said Frank as Mikey dragged him away, still muttering curses at Bert, though he was out of earshot.

"Frank. Go and wait at the bus stop." 

"What? Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be two seconds. Go wait, okay?" 

Frank nodded, still breathing heavily. He frowned at Mikey and turned the way they'd come. He looked behind him a couple of times, but all he could see was Mikey towering over Bert. Frank was a little disappointed that he hadn't hit him. Bert was nodding almost constantly to whatever it was Mikey was saying. Frank cracked his knuckles and sat down in the bus shelter to wait and return his heartbeat to a safe speed. He could still feel the anger burning in his chest, but even through his anger, Frank could see why drunk Bert had shouted at him that day. It made sense now. Bert was just a weak, bitter guy who couldn't deal with the commitment of a boyfriend, let alone a mildly damaged, insecure boyfriend like Gerard. 

As Frank watched the traffic, his breathing began to even out. As his chest loosened he began to even feel relief. He was relieved that it had gone the way it did. It was clear now. Frank had been worrying for weeks that Gerard had some dark issue that would rear its head in the future. Even Mikey had tried to warn Frank about this strange problem which might arise. He hadn't been sure what to think. Obviously he never should have doubted Gee, but he'd been confused. Now, though, now he was calm. 

Gee was flawed, but who the fuck wasn't. Frank had spent more than enough time around Gerard to understand that living him wouldn't always be easy. He didn't need Mikey or Bert to tell him that. Living with Frank probably wasn't always a walk in the park either. If, one day, Gee wanted to tell him about his other problems, then he would. Frank smiled as he relaxed against the back of the bus shelter. It had taken him far too long to fucking figure it out, but now he got it. He'd had been so busy distracting himself with issues might not even exist, that he'd drawn his attention away from the person he'd been so desperate to hold onto in the first place; Gerard. He looked at the floor and shook his fringe over his face. If he and Gee ran into trouble later on, they'd deal with it.

For now, there was still the Ways' thug of a cousin to worry about. 

***

"I still don't understand." said Frank into his landline. Mikey was speaking too fast on the other end.

" _Just keep Gerard away from work this evening, okay?_ " said Mikey. Frank sighed.

"Dude, I have no idea how the fuck to do that. I asked him to stay off school once already last week... He's too scared to fuck up, I don't think he'll skip."

" _I know. I know, but you have to make him! If you don't I swear to fucking god it'll be worse for him. Keep him at yours, 'kay?"_

Frank waved his arm to the side in frustration.

"Yeah." he sighed. "Yeah, okay, I mean, I'll try?" 

 _"Try hard!"_ said Mikey.  _"Good luck. Gotta go, dude."_  

"What the fuck am I going to do." muttered Frank to himself. He glanced up at the clock and pushed himself off the kitchen stool. He'd promised to pick up Gee from school and then drop him at work. He took a deep breath and grabbed his keys from the counter before heading for the door. He's better start putting his plan together, and it would have to be good if he wanted Gee to risk trouble at work for it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much plot twisty stuff? + sorry I updated like 3 times in 24 hours, I had a backlog and i'm impatient as fuhk  
> ***  
> Doing okay?  
> ***  
> MoOn x


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes d o w n (finally)

Gerard beamed when he caught sight of Frank and it hit like a punch in the gut. Frank forced a smile onto his face and waved at him, jingling his keys in his other hand. 

"Ready to go?" he asked as Gee passed the gate. Frank was too distracted to realise that Gerard's stature. For once he didn't look like he was trying to make himself invisible. He'd walked across the quad with purpose, hair pinned back from his face. 

"Yeah." said Gerard with another bright grin. "Awh, I wish I could hug you right now..." he said, ambling on ahead of Frank towards his car. 

"Well... you could." said Frank. 

"Yeah, but you know where that always leads." muttered Gerard, dumping his books in the back of the car and sliding into the passenger seat. Frank snorted and followed Gerard, who was shifting about and trying to reach into the back pockets of his jeans. Frank just watched him for a moment with an eyebrow raised. 

"Uh... You okay?" he said when Gee still hadn't settled down. 

"Yeah." puffed Gerard. "I- just- Paintbrushes." he said with a sigh, finally extracting his hand from behind him and holding up two, lo and behold, paintbrushes . "Thank fuck I didn't break them!" he said, chucking them into the back with his other stuff. Frank gazed at him for another few seconds and smiled when Gee frowned at him. "What?" he said. 

"Nothing. You're cute. Let's go home."

***

"Frankie, I have to go to work, come on." said Gerard, searching for his jacket. "It's a Friday, I can come back straight after my shift and we can spend all night together, okay? I'll be done by like eleven latest." 

Frank was quickly running out of excuses. Mikey had just texted him " _LIFTOFF",_ which Frank assumed meant that their plan was in action; he was on his way to Gee's club to face Spike with Bert.

That was it.

That was their big plan.

When Mikey had stayed behind to talk to Bert at Starbucks, it had been to corner him into confronting Spike. Mikey's logic was that Bert was his 'friend', and so Spike would be less likely to stab him on the spot. Frank wasn't so sure, but it was quite literally the only option they had, so he was willing to go with it. Ultimately, they hoped that Spike would feel so threatened that three or four people had the potential to spill his secret that he would back off Gerard. 

Mikey had never said so, but Frank suspected even _he_ knew it was a weak strategy. You can't reason with gorillas like Spike. Best case scenario, they would get out of there without any lasting injuries. Hopefully, since they would be in a relatively public place, they could escape any injuries whatsoever. 

Then all they needed to do was avoid Spike for the rest of their lives. 

Perfect. 

"Gee, please, baby." said Frank. "You can call in sick today, they won't have any reason to suspect you're _not_ sick. You always do so good there. You've barely missed a day this whole year. Please?"

Gerard ignored him, still searching around for his jacket. Frank tried again.

"Plus, I'm starting up dance shifts again on Monday. I'll have to be on my best behaviour; no bunking off to see you." Frank followed Gerard into the kitchen and batted his eyelashes. Gee smirked at him. 

"That's cute, babe, but it's not going to work today. School is one thing, work on the other hand- Ah! Here it is!" he said, reaching over the bar stool to grab his jacket and checked the pockets for his locker key. "You can drive me though?" said Gerard with a hopeful smile. Frank's eyebrows knitted. He should have planned this better. Maybe if he'd bought movie tickets or something Gee would feel too guilty to waste the money. He didn't want to seem weird by pushing it, though. 

On their way downstairs Frank briefly considered driving Gerard somewhere different altogether. He discarded that thought almost at once. If he wanted to seem weird, that would be the way to go about it. 

As they got into the car Frank fired off a quick warning text to Mikey. Maybe it wasn't too late to call them off. He and Bert could always stage their intervention some other day. Mikey didn't respond at once, suggesting that they were already too late. Frank swore under his breath as he fired up the ignition. He'd have to think of some way to stall once they got there, if not, everything was pretty much fucked. 

***

"Are you sure you don't want to-" 

"Frankie." said Gerard, shooting him a look. "Don't. You know I'd rather be with you." Frank powered the car off. He couldn't guilt Gerard any more. 

"I know you would, baby." said Frank, leaning over to plant a soft kiss on Gerard's cheek. Gee blinked and then looked at Frank with questioning eyes. Frank simply forced himself to smile and open the car door. His stomach knotted as he considered Gerard's fate when he stepped into that club tonight. He closed his eyes and leant against the car door while Gerard got his things from the trunk. It was too late now. Worrying wouldn't change the outcome. Maybe everything would even turn out for the best. Frank drew his lip ring into his mouth. Maybe. 

"You walking me in?" said Gerard. 

"Yeah." said Frank, pushing himself off the car with a final breath. They walked side by side down the alleyway. Gerard laced their fingers together as they turned the final corner and pulled Frank to a stop.

"You okay?" said Frank, glancing at his watch. Gee was already fifteen minutes late. Once again, Frank let himself hope that Mikey and Bert would be gone already, but it was a long shot. Besides, even if they'd finished, Spike was probably not going to be in the best mood with Gerard. Unintentionally, Frank squeezed Gee's hand tighter, wordlessly willing him to turn back around and let Frank take him somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from all the twisted shit that seemed to be following him around. 

"Yeah, I'm okay." said Gerard, the glow of the club lights shining in his eyes and casting a yellow haze into the alley. "I just wanted to- uh- I've been wanting to say this for a little while and, I know it's a bad time, but... I don't know." Frank ran his eyes over Gerard's face and smiled at the creases in his forehead and around his eyes. 

"What is it?" he said. Gerard's lips tightened and he dropped Frank's gaze. 

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." he said, still staring at the crumbling asphalt. Frank's mouth opened to speak but Gerard cut him off. "Because I feel like I don't ever show you how much I appreciate you. You drive me everywhere and you've really supported me through all this weird stuff going on. I know it's been intense, and I'm not always the most fun to be around because I'm stressed, but you stuck by me, like... I don't know if you get it... No one's ever done that for me - besides Mikey - and it means so much." Gerard sniffed and ran a sleeve over his nose. Frank just stared at him, absorbing every word. "I- uh- I feel like I don't tell you enough. I've only said it like once or twice, but ever since we became friends and then became... whatever else we are... I've been doing better. That's all i'm trying to say. I don't know what I would do without you." He looked up and searched Frank's eyes. Frank blinked away the water pooling there and picked up Gerard's other hand, intertwining it with his own. He couldn't run away from this now. There had been so many times when he should have told Gerard more, shown how much he needed him too; how much he  _wanted_ him, but he hadn't. Now he knew for sure that it was returned, he couldn't let another opportunity slip away. This shit was too important. 

"Gerard." he said, willing his voice not to betray him. "You do enough for me by just being around. I mean this. You don't have to thank me for anything. To be honest, I should probably be thanking you. You're so strong, baby, and you teach me so fucking much about...like, the world, just by being around you all the time. These last few months have meant everything to me, Gee, because you mean everything to me. Whatever we are, I don't want it to stop and..." Frank swept his eyes over Gerard one more time. "It sounds so fucking cliché but there is not a day goes by I'm not glad that I met you. My heart still stops whenever you text me, baby, like..." Frank laughed and Gerard extracted one of his hands to cover his mouth as his eyes crinkled. "It's ridiculous. I feel like I'm fucking fourteen and..." 

Frank knew he wanted to say it. In that moment, if he hadn't been completely sure before, he knew. As they stood in the orange-washed alleyway down the side of a strip club, next to two dumpsters and a dubious looking pile of trash, Frank realised that this was where he wanted to be. He didn't give a flying fuck. They could be standing waste deep in sewage for all he cared, as long as he was there with Gerard, it didn't fucking matter. His ears rushed and he was suddenly aware of the blood speeding through his body, and he knew that this was it. This scrawny, black haired, misfit kid was his first love. Fuck Stacy in first grade, and Matt in highschool, and his first 'real boyfriend' Connor, and his last Ex Francis (also a stripper, and a fucking moron.), because this was it. He had never felt this before, and despite the nights of excruciating pain over it, he was loving every second. 

So he should probably tell the boy...

"Gee, I-" Frank smiled as a tear leaked down Gerard's cheek and onto his hand which was still clamped over his mouth. "Please don't cry, baby." he said, reaching up to wipe Gee's face. "You've got work." he said. Gerard let out a half-laugh, half-sob and rubbed his eyes. 

"I'm- It's because I'm happy." he said with a shaky giggle. "Sorry. Carry on."

"Oh..." said Frank. "I- I was just going to say that I-" the bubbly nervousness in Frank's stomach seemed to be messing with his articulation. Gerard looked patiently down at him with a crooked smile on his face. "That I'm really fucking glad you didn't bleed out that night we met because I think my life would be too fucking boring without you, baby."

For fuck's sake, Frank.

Gerard giggled again and then glanced down the alley.

"Yeah. I'm glad you decided to walk home from work that night, too." he said. Frank smiled up at him even though he was mentally slapping himself across the face.

"You're 25 minute's late for work, baby." he said softly. Gerard nodded at him and leant down for a gentle kiss.

"I'm going."

"I'll come with you." said Frank, reality quickly crashing down around him. "I could use a drink anyway." Gerard shot him a look as they started walking again.

"Babe, you brought the car."

"Yeah." Fuck. "I'll just have one beer." he muttered.

The door of the club was unmanned. Frank didn't let himself raise his hopes. Sometimes the door guys sat inside. He took a deep breath as Gerard went for the door, and he didn't even have to wait another thirty seconds before the situation inside was clear to him. Gerard froze in the open doorway and Frank pushed his way in beside him, slipping under Gee's arm. The sight he was met with was less than reassuring.

"Frankie." muttered Gerard, barely audibly. Frank swallowed and nodded, eyes fixed ahead. "What the fuck is happening?" 

The usually-dim front hallway was flooded with light, and, instead of being empty as normal, was crowded with people. Frank's eyes swept the small crowd and recognised a good few of them; all dancers. The costumes said as much. They all had their backs to the door and seemed to have their attention focussed somewhere in the middle of the group. Frank scanned the crowd and, sure enough, spotted floppy blonde hair in the middle. At least Mikey was still standing. With a couple of seconds more searching, Frank also located Spike. He was standing about a metre back from Mikey and looked incredibly pissed off. Gerard was tapping his shoulder now. 

"Frankie, that's my brother!" he said. "What the fuck is he doing with Spike? Oh my god..." Gerard made to start walking into the group of dancers, but Frank stopped him. 

"Gee, baby, I'm so, so sorry." he said. Gerard frowned at him. 

"What do you mean-"

"You need to stay here, okay?" 

"What? No. My brother's in there doing god-knows-what I'm not-"

"Gerard." said Frank firmly, startling him into silence. "I kind of fucking like your face, okay, and if you don't stay right where you are, there is significant risk that your face will suffer damage, alright. Stay the fuck here. I'll be out in two seconds with Mikey. Alright?"

"But Frank-"

"Stop. Stay here." he said, hating the force in his voice. Gerard blinked at him and then nodded, stepping forwards to let the door close behind him and then backing himself against it. 

"Be careful, okay?" he said. Frank smiled at him and nodded, turning to face the backs of several dancers. This wasn't going to be an enjoyable task. 

By the time Frank had fought his way to the centre of the gathering, it became clear that Mikey hadn't escaped unscathed. He was clutching the side of his face, but still managing to look thunderous. Bert, surprisingly enough, was cowering behind Mikey. Frank stood, looking between them. None of them even registered his arrival. The swarm of dancers were watching the action avidly. 

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." hissed Mikey. 

"Have you not learnt your fucking lesson?" said Spike, eyes flitting either side to the gathered crowd. "You're my blood, Mikes, I have no problem with you, so just step down." 

Before Mikey had the chance to reply a voice from behind him said;

"No." 

Frank looked around to see Bert emerging from behind Mikey. Some of the girls to the right of Frank started whispering. Probably wondering what connection this random guy had to Mikey and Spike. Mikey turned his head slightly to watch Bert step forward. 

"We're not going to step down, man, okay? I respect you man, you know that," Frank cringed. "...you've been a friend, but this is fucked up. This is too far. He's just a kid." Spike stepped forward, rounding on Bert. To Bert's credit he didn't step down. 

"What the fuck has it got to do with you?" he snarled. 

"Because you crossed the line, Spike." he said, only the slightest shake in his voice. "Mikey's told me what you say to his brother. That's your cousin, man, don't you see that it's wrong? Like, we've talked this over, dude, I get it's tough." Spike took another half step towards Bert, but Frank could see that he was listening now. "But don't you think things are going to turn out worse for you if your family find out what you've been doing. It's sick, man, you know?" at this Mikey stepped back in front of Bert.

"What your little friend is trying to say," said Mikey, voice like steel. Frank hoped Gerard could hear this from back there, he'd be proud. "We have a fuck ton more dirt on you than you have on him." Spike's sneer fell from his face. Frank smirked internally as he watched the realisation dawning on the slow motherfucker. "Sure, you could tell Mom that Gerard's gay. Sure, you could tell her what he does for money. Maybe he'd get in trouble, maybe he'd even get kicked out of the house... But then, we'd have to tell  _your_ mom that- not only are you also a fucking homo- you've been perving on your little cousin. You followed him to work. You beat him up. Think about it, you fucking idiot. You've done yourself more harm than Gee could ever have done to you in the first place." said Mikey, edging back a little as Spike's murderous expression returned. He stuttered, only for a moment, as he tried to form words.

"Who are you calling a fucking idiot, you must be a fucking f-"

"Also-" came a shrill voice from somewhere in front of Frank. Spike stopped and there was silence as everyone peered around. The voice didn't belong to Mikey or Bert. In fact, it didn't sound like a male voice at all. There was a commotion on the other side of the ring of people. Suddenly one of the dancers pushed her way through into the middle. Frank recognised her from Gee's shows as Sasha. There was silence as she stepped forwards. Spike looked stunned to have been interrupted. 

"Maybe I could tell his mommy the kind of things he says to me and the girls, too? Hmm?" she said, eyes like ice as she stared him down. She knew he wouldn't go near her in front of all these people, but it was a brave move nonetheless. A girl next to her with hair down to her hips nodded. 

"Yeah, I could definitely vouch for that." she said. "Some of the things aren't very nice." she said, pouting, voice sickly sweet and dripping with sarcasm. Sasha turned to her and shook her head. 

"They're not are they. You know what..." she said, putting a finger up to her cheek. "We could always let the boss know. He's not in today... but he will be tomorrow. I mean, we never bothered before since we just felt so  _sorry_ for Spike. He must be going through a lot if he needs to be such a pathetic fuckwad all the time." she spat. Frank bit his lip. She was going further than he would have ever dared, but maybe there was more to her story than he was aware of. No matter what, he was fucking appreciative that she was speaking up at all. 

"You girls have got no fucking idea-" said Spike, but Mikey cut him off. 

"Listen, dude, save your fucking breath. You've made enough of an ass of yourself already. I think you should go." said Mikey, standing up straight, his spindly body rigid. He still fell a few inches short of Spike, and he looked like the weedy teenager that he was, but two of the club dudes stepped up behind him. Frank looked at Spike, and he could see the defeat on his face before he'd even said a word. "Or we could get the girls to call in your boss if you want?" said Mikey, raising an eyebrow. What followed was the most uncomfortable thirty seconds of silence Frank had ever endured. Everyone watched as Sasha and her friend glared at spike from the right, and Mikey, Bert and the club guys directly in front of him. Spike opened his mouth a couple of times, scowling furiously as he tried to find a way out of the predicament, but his tiny brain simply didn't allow it. 

"You're going to really fucking regret this." was all he managed to say as he swung around and stomped through the crowd of dancers. No one parted to let him pass, so he ended up forcing his way in between four rows of people, all staring at him as he went. Frank pushed his way out to the other side of the crowd to watch him go, heart jumping as he remembered Gerard by the door. As Frank broke through the last row of people he saw Spike stomping past Gerard, who was still standing, wide eyed, in the doorway. 

"Fucking move, bitch." was all Spike said as he reached for the door handle. Gerard needed no further encouragement, jumping to the side at once. Frank stayed where he was until the door swung shut behind Spike. For a second there was silence, and then the applause started. It was slow at first, but eventually the whole hallway was filled with the cheers of the dancers- plus the odd few customers who had stuck around to watch the drama. As everyone swarmed around Mikey and Sasha, Frank hung back. Gerard stood, looking shellshocked, by the door. As Frank approached him he could see his hands shaking. 

"Baby?" he asked apprehensively. Gerard was still staring into space when Frank placed a hand gently on his chest. 

"Did you- Did you know that was going to happen?" he asked quietly. Frank bit his lip and searched Gerard's face. He still wasn't looking at him. 

"I'm sorry, baby. I should have told you, but I just wanted you to be safe. Me and Mikey talked to Bert and-" Gerard lifted a hand. Frank looked up at him, his heart starting to race. He'd been worried Gerard would be mad, but he hadn't actually planned what he would do if it actually happened. 

"Gee- Gerard- I'm sorry, really. I honestly was trying to do what's best-"

"Frankie, stop." said Gerard quietly. "Is that why you were trying to keep me off work today?" he asked, finally finding Frank's eyes with his own. Frank said nothing, just nodded. He hoped that his apology was showing on his face, because he was feeling it. Gee had been kept in the dark enough in his life, he didn't need the people he trusted keeping secrets and interfering behind his back. Things had gone okay, for now, but they could very well have turned out for the worst. Frank and Mikey had taken a complete gamble with Gerard's safety and-

"Thank you." he said. Frank's brain screeched to a halt. 

"Huh?" he said. 

"I said thank you. It's like I said earlier..." he shrugged. "No one has ever looked out for me like you do. You guys knew it was dangerous and you still tried to help me."

"Yeah, but what if we just made things worse?" said Frank, taking a step closer to Gerard. The movement was almost subconscious. Gerard's arm slipped around Frank's waist, pulling him right into his space. 

"I don't care." he said, smile flickering over his lips. "It's the thought that counts, right?" he whispered, closing the distance between them and kissing him. Gerard bit down lightly on Frank's bottom lip and Frank felt it right at the pit of his stomach. When they separated Frank was smiling. 

"Your brother is right over there, you sicko." said Frank, tugging him towards the thinning crowd of people. Gerard rolled his eyes. 

"We're in a fucking strip club, Frankie. A strip club where I work. I think that line has been crossed." he said. Frank laughed. Gee slipped his hand into Frank's as they hung around, waiting for Mikey's new fan-club to disperse. When Frank looked back up at Gerard, he was frowning.

"Did you say Bert earlier?" said Gerard. Frank sucked the air through his teeth.

"Uh- yeah... I'll explain later." he said. Gerard nodded and shifted from one foot to the other.

"Okay... it's just... I don't really feel like seeing him... If he's here..." he said, looking around.

"Oh!" said Frank. "Oh, yeah, totally... uh... I said I'd wait for Mikey though so..." Gerard nodded and they stood for a while longer. A smile crept onto Frank's face as Gerard slipped his hand into Frank's back pocket. "Or," he said, pushing his own hand into Gerard's jacket, settling around the hem of his shirt. "We could just drop Mikes a text telling him to come over when he's finished up here." said Frank. Gerard smiled too, pretending to glance innocently around.

"Might have to tell him to wait forty minutes or so." he muttered. Frank laughed properly.

"If you're fucking lucky, sweetheart." he said. "Come on then, let's go." 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a while on this one and Idk...  
> I'm working to get this done cause I wanna submit it to the Frerardhub on tumblr. (If you like frerard shit and you don't use it, you're doing yourself a disservice btw...)  
> ***  
> Tell me what you guys think?  
> ***  
> MoOn xo


	16. Chapter 16

Frank and Gerard were completely tangled up in one another when the doorbell rang.

"Shit." said Frank and Gerard burst out laughing. "Shit, shit, shit."

They both pulled various items of clothing on, regardless of ownership, and Frank dashed to the door.

"Coming, Mikey." he called. After tripping over his shoes and missing the doorknob altogether, Frank finally managed to let Mikey into the apartment. Gerard was standing in the living room, looking even more ruffled than Frank. Mikey looked between the two of them.

"Ew." he said by way of greeting, and walked over to Gerard. Frank offered him a drink and an icepack for his face, both of which Mikey gladly accepted.

"So what do you think's going to happen?" asked Frank once they were all sitting down. Frank was scrubbing at his favourite shirt, which had acquired some dubious stains over the past few weeks.

"I don't know." said Gee. "Mikes how's your head?" he asked, grimacing and reaching out to move Mikey's hair away from the icepack. Mikey scowled and batted his hand away.

"It's fine." he said. "I just hope it's going to be fucking worth it, jesus."

"You know what?" said Gerard. "I think it will be." Mikey studied his brother's face for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah." he said. "I think you're right. I hope so, at least. I just think even someone as dumb as Spike will be able to figure out when the odds are against him." Gerard flopped back in his chair.

"We'll have to see, I guess. I'd be surprised if he shows his face at the club again, to be honest." Gerard paused. Had Frank been looking up, he might have spotted Gee looking at him, but he was busy picking at his shirt. "I can't believe you guys convinced Bert to help you out." Mikey snorted.

"It took some doing. I can't believe you ever even went near him, Gee. He's a fucking piece of work." Gerard looked at his shoes and nodded. "Gee?" said Mikey. "If anyone ever goes near you again- does anything scary like that again- I want you to tell someone. I don't care if it's me or Frankie or whoever. Just tell someone who can help you. You changed so much when all this bullshit started and... I want to know that you're going to be safe from now on. I'm just glad I have my brother back, I don't want to lose him again." said Mikey quietly. Gerard was beaming at him as if he'd just announced Christmas was coming early.

"Mikes." he said, splaying his fingers over his chest. "Don't make me cry in front of my boyfriend."

Frank's head snapped up and he met Gerard's eyes. Gee just gave him the faintest of smiles before returning his attention to Mikey. Frank watched him for a few more seconds before smiling and looking back down at his shirt, heart racing almost out of his chest.

"I'm serious, Gee!" said Mikey. "And Frank?" said Mikey. Frank discarded his shirt once and for all and looked up at Mikey, willing his face to return to an acceptable colour. "I probably wasn't all that friendly towards you during all this and I'm sorry." he said earnestly. Frank was about to dismiss this comment at once when Mikey continued. "Not just that. Before you and my brother got close he was... he was a different person. He was so low, and since he's been hanging with you I've seen him change like- I don't know. It's like he's got some self respect back." Mikey gave his brother a meaningful look as he spoke, before facing Frank again. "It's just really obvious how good you are for him, so I wanted to thank you for doing that." Frank shook his head, flicking his eyes towards Gerard, who was staring fixedly at the floor again.

"Oh my god." said Frank. "Did I just get your blessing?" he said, grinning. Mikey rolled his eyes, but smiled, too.

"I guess I did, would you look at that. Looks like I don't have to beat you up after all." Frank laughed then grimaced.

"I think everyone's had enough beatings for the time being." he said, reaching over and petting Gerard's arm. Gee looked up at him, eyes glittering. Mikey glanced between the two of them and raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, you kids." he said, removing his ice pack and standing up. Frank and Gerard turned to him, confused. "I- uh- I've got some stuff to do at home... like unloading the dishwasher...so-"

"Don't go, Mikes!" said Gerard.

"Yeah man, hang around, we could get late dinner?" said Frank, frowning at him. Mikey shot them both a knowing glance and shook his head. "No, no, I think I should get home. Mom might wonder where I am. I'm the kid of the family, after all." he said, peering around to find his jacket. Gerard got up to see Mikey out, Frank trailing behind them. At the door Mikey thanked Frank again for his help, hugged his brother, and once he reached the elevator he shouted "Use protection!" down the hallway. Gerard put his head in his hands and Frank laughed, closing the door behind him.

"Alone again." he said, pulling Gerard's hands from off his face. Gee nodded. "Wanna... finish what we started." he said, eyebrow raised, pointing a thumb towards the bedroom. Gerard sniggered at him and batted his arm away.

"You're the corniest thing I have ever seen."

"Hey, what are boyfriends for." said Frank, heart jumping at the word.

"Boyfriends." repeated Gerard, reaching an hand out to stroke the side of Frank's face. "That's pretty fucking cool to say." he said.

"Yeah, took you long enough." muttered Frank. Gerard gasped.

"Says you!" he said. Frank giggled at his expression, dropping his eyes down to Gerard's lips for a fraction of a second.

"So was that a no, or..." he began, Gerard cut Frank off with a heavy kiss, pushing him back up against the door, before taking a step back and running his eyes up and down Frank's body. Frank could almost feel his gaze brushing over him.

"What do _you_ think?" murmured Gerard, turning back and making a huge show of walking through the living room.

"You're such a slut." laughed Frank, running after him. "Race you."

"Talk about killing the mood, you fucker!" called Gerard from behind him as Frank dived onto the bed, hitting the headboard against the wall with a crash.

***

"Would you ever tell your parents?" asked Frank. He wasn't sure if Gerard was even awake. He'd turned over a little while ago, back pressed up against Frank's side. Frank was carding his fingers through Gerard's hair.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you could ever tell them?" Frank repeated. Gee shuffled around for a second before turning to face Frank, peering at him from a nest of blankets. Street lamps outside cast a hazy light into the room. Smoke from Gerard's cigarettes still hung in wisps above the bed.

"Honestly?" said Gerard. Frank nodded. "I don't know. To be honest, right now it's not even important. Sure it would have been nice to have an accepting, supportive family, but I don't. It's life. You learn to deal with it, you know. Maybe a year ago or whatever I would have given anything to just be able to bring a boyfriend home, or tell my mom about my troubles, but you know what I'm coming to realise?" he asked, pausing. Frank shook his head. "I'm still so lucky, Frankie. I have so much more than I could have hoped for. This time last year I wasn't sure that I would make it another six months, but now..." Gerard shook his head and fell silent again. Frank wondered if he'd really fallen asleep this time, when his voice broke the stillness again. "I've been thinking about it so much recently." he said. "I have a few more months in my parents' house, then i'm gone." he said "Why rock the boat now? There's no point. I'll never change their bigotry, and all it'll do is make life harder for Mikes. It wouldn't be fair. He's been there for me forever, I don't want to fuck shit up for him. He's still got another year to deal with in that house, you know?" he said. Frank nodded. As much as it broke Frank's heart to hear him say it, Gee wasn't wrong. Morally, maybe, but practically, Frank really couldn't argue.

"As long as you're happy with that." said Frank. "I just want you to be happy."

"I am." said Gerard. "I mean, not always, obviously, but I'm happy with how things are. I've accepted what I can't change... or I'm trying to, anyway. I'm happy that I have you." Frank smiled.

"You're so brave." he said. That tightness was beginning to build in his chest again, and this time, he wasn't going to let it smother his mental ability. "Gerard." He said. Gee nodded lazily, peering up at him with a crooked smile over his lips. "Baby, I'm in love with you." he said softly, his breath catching in his throat. Just like that, he'd said it, and luckily, Gee didn't leave him waiting long for a reply. He propped himself on his elbow and pushed his free hand up into Frank's T-shirt. When he spoke it was with his eyes closed, lips half an inch from Frank's.

"I'm in love with you too." he whispered, pressing his lips into Frank's. "So in love with you." he said as he shifted himself closer, leaning in again. Frank felt like his heart might stop, he wasn't sure if he remembered how to breathe. All he knew was how to move his lips against Gerard's, and at that moment, it was all he needed.

-fin-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well fucking finally  
> ***  
> Tell me if you liked it and if not ALSO TELL ME so I can do better  
> ***  
> Thank you for reading, kids <3  
> MOON xo

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you find any mistakes  
> ***  
> Thank you for reading <3  
> ***  
> [Advice always appreciated if you have any]  
> 


End file.
